“ On that occasion Mr Balfour's description of Tenniel as “a great artist and a great gentleman” was applauded by the press of the whole country.
The main quality of Sir John Tenniel's work is accuracy of drawing, precision of touch, grace and dignity of conception, and—so far as such things can be compatible—geniality of satire. Tenniel raised the political cartoon into a classic composition, from which a sense of nobility is rarely absent. ”

“ The political history not of England only, but to some extent of the world, of half a century appears in Sir John Tenniel's weekly cartoons, which are dignified by a number of types invented by the artist, the classic beauty of which may be looked for in vain in kindred work by any previous cartoonist. ”

“ In spite of his tendency towards “high art,” he was already known and appreciated as a humorist, and his early companionship with Charles Keene fostered and developed his talent for scholarly caricature. ”