Sutherland Macdonald

Sutherland Macdonald (1860–1942) was a prominent English tattoo artist in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and the first tattooist in Britain with an identifiable premises open to the public. Operating in a salon in London's Jermyn Street, he is listed in the 1894 London Post Office Directory. He is considered the first person to offer a professional tattoo service in London, although the practice was already popular in Japan and the Middle East prior to that time.^[1] He was erroneously said to have tattooed kings and princes, including George V when he was Duke of York.^[2]

Sutherland Macdonald
In The Sketch, 23 January 1895
Born	(1860-06-25)25 June 1860 Boundary Terrace, Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Died	18 June 1942(1942-06-18) (aged 81) Surbiton, London, England
Burial place	Surbiton Cemetery
Occupation	Tattoo artist
Spouse(s)	Sophia Weedon Annie Caroline Mayne (M:1887) Amy Mary Keen (M:1934)
Parents	Robert Macdonald (1821/2–1898) (father) Elizabeth Mitchell Macdonald (1821–1893) (mother)

Life and career

Sutherland Macdonald was born in Boundary Terrace, Leeds on 25 June 1860. He served in the British Army in the 1870s as a telegraph operator in the Royal Engineers and was in the Anglo-Zulu War.^[3]

In addition to artistic designs, he also performed color blending on skin grafts of accident victims.^[4]

He died on 18 June 1942 at his home on 3 Guilford Avenue, Surbiton, and is buried at Surbiton Cemetery.^[3]

Legacy

On 29 January 2016, the Museum of London opened a display which included some of his work called Tattoo London.^[5]

See also

• George Burchett
• Tom Riley