The bass-baritone and artist Fernando Autori (1886-1937) was born in Calatafini, Sicily, and despite wanting to become a painter, studied pharmacy at the University of Palermo before leaving to study singing in Palermo with Antonio Cantelli. He made his debut as an opera singer in 1908 at the Teatro Bellini in Naples and after the war first appeared at La Scala, Milan, in 1924. He made several successful guest appearances at Covent Garden and other European opera houses in the 1930s

During his operatic career in London Aurori met Rupert D'Oyly Carte, Director of the D'Oyly Carte Company from 1913 to 1948, whose portrait he drew along with those of conductors and personalities associated with the company. Several of Autori's portraits were commisioned to appear in the periodical The Tatler, including his portraits of theatre impresario Charles Cochran, the writer H.G. Wells and the politician Ramsay Macdonald.

J.J. Jennings worked on advance publicity for the D'Oyly Carte Company in the early 1930s and the early 1950s. He was also depicted in a Tim Titt cartoon published in The Tatler showing members of the D'Oyly Carte administrative staff playing members of the company.