Ralph Shillito Thompson MBE (3 June 1913[1] – 3 May 2009) was a British artist and book illustrator, who specialized in pen and ink sketches of animal subjects.
His most noteworthy works are his series of book illustrations for the famous naturalist and author Gerald Durrell in the period 1954 to 1964 when Durrell was associated with the publishing firm of Rupert Hart-Davis.
During this period of time, he visited Gerald Durrell's Jersey Zoo numerous times to sketch his subjects, especially when working on the illustrations of Menagerie Manor.
Thompson also illustrated picture books like Chess Dream in a Garden by Rosemary Sutcliff.
Reader's Digest issued a sketchbook of Thompson in 1970 titled Animals Through the Eyes of an Artist.