children's book illustration

children's book illustration,

Beginnings of a Genre

Among the first picture books produced in the West and intended for children is ComeniusComenius, John Amos
, Czech Jan Amos Komenský, 1592–1670, Moravian churchman and educator, last bishop of the Moravian Church. Comenius advocated relating education to everyday life by emphasizing contact with objects in the environment and systematizing all
..... Click the link for more information. 's Orbis Pictus, a primerlike text written in Latin about 1657 or 1658. Earlier works meant for adults but suitable for children include the Japanese Scroll of Animals (12th cent.) with animated sketches by Toba Soja and the first English edition of Aesop's Fables, printed by William Caxton in 1484 and illustrated with woodcuts. John NewberyNewbery, John,
1713–67, English publisher and bookseller. He established juvenile literature as an important branch of the publishing business. Included among his publications is Little Goody Two Shoes (1766).
..... Click the link for more information.  included woodcuts in The Renowned History of Little Goody Two Shoes (1765). The earliest illustrators of children's books were usually anonymous, but with the appearance of Thomas BewickBewick, Thomas
, 1753–1828, English wood engraver. Bewick pioneered in the revival of original wood engraving. Among his famous early works are his illustrations for John Gay's Fables (1779), for Aesop's Select Fables (1784), and for Ralph Beilby's
..... Click the link for more information. 's art for Pretty Book of Pictures for Little Masters and Misses; or, Tommy Trip's History of Beasts and Birds (1799), well-known artists began to receive credit for their work in this field.

William BlakeBlake, William,
1757–1827, English poet and artist, b. London. Although he exerted a great influence on English romanticism, Blake defies characterization by school, movement, or even period.
..... Click the link for more information.  printed, engraved, and hand colored his own Songs of Innocence (1789). The Butterfly's Ball (1807), by William Roscoe, was illustrated by William MulreadyMulready, William
, 1786–1863, Irish genre painter. He began as a drawing master and an illustrator of children's books. After 1809 he devoted himself to genre subjects and gained a considerable reputation.
..... Click the link for more information. , and illustrations for the first English version of Grimm's Fairy Tales (1824) were created by George CruikshankCruikshank, George
, 1792–1878, English caricaturist, illustrator, and etcher; younger son of Isaac Cruikshank (1756–1810), caricaturist. Self-taught, George early gained a reputation for his humorous drawings and political and social satires.
..... Click the link for more information. . John TennielTenniel, Sir John
, 1820–1914, English caricaturist and illustrator. He became well known for his original and good-humored political cartoons in Punch, with which he was associated from 1851 to 1901.
..... Click the link for more information. 's remarkable drawings for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) remain unsurpassed. His art creates a visual framework through which the characters of the story come to life.

A Great Tradition

Illustrations for children's books usually enhanced or explained the text, but in the latter quarter of the 19th cent. three artistic giants, Walter CraneCrane, Walter,
1845–1915, English designer, illustrator, and painter. As a painter he is grouped with the later Pre-Raphaelites, but he is better known for his illustrations of the works of Spenser and of Hawthorne's Wonder Book and Grimm's Fairy Tales.
..... Click the link for more information. , Kate GreenawayGreenaway, Kate,
1846–1901, English illustrator and watercolorist. She is famous for her fanciful, humorous, delicately colored drawings of child life. She influenced children's clothing and the illustrating of children's books and was often imitated, though never
..... Click the link for more information. , and Randolph CaldecottCaldecott, Randolph
, 1846–86, one of the most popular late 19th-century English book illustrators. Born in Chester, he moved (1872) to London, where he began publishing illustrations in such periodicals as Punch, The Graphic, and
..... Click the link for more information. , gave a new dimension to illustration. They produced the picture storybook in which interdependent text and illustration are given equal emphasis. Crane's nursery-song prints in Baby's Bouquet (1908) combine soft colors with bold composition. Greenaway's Under the Window (1878) is enhanced by delicate garden colors. In the 1870s and 80s Caldecott's nursery books displayed harmonious linear composition and warm color.

The exquisite watercolors in Beatrix PotterPotter, Beatrix,
1866–1943, English author and illustrator. She published her first animal stories, The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) and The Tailor of Gloucester (1903), at her own expense before she found a publisher, Frederick Warne & Company.
..... Click the link for more information. 's Peter Rabbit books reveal her careful observation of small wild animals. The grandeur and dignity of Howard PylePyle, Howard,
1853–1911, American illustrator and writer, b. Wilmington, Del., studied at the Art Students League, New York City. His illustrations appeared regularly in Harper's Weekly, and in many other American magazines.
..... Click the link for more information. 's portraits intensify the heroic adventures of Robin Hood (1883) and Men of Iron (1890). Two of Pyle's students were Jessie Wilcox, who illustrated Robert Louis Stevenson's Child's Garden of Verses (1905) and N. C. WyethWyeth, N. C.
(Newell Convers Wyeth), 1882–1945, American painter and illustrator, b. Needham, Mass., studied with Howard Pyle. Among his many well-known murals are those in the Missouri state capitol and the altar panels for the National Episcopal Cathedral, Washington, D.
..... Click the link for more information. , whose dramatization of individuals and landscape enriched Treasure Island (1917), Robinson Crusoe (1920), and many other works. The master illustrator Arthur RackhamRackham, Arthur
, 1867–1939, English illustrator and watercolorist. He is known for imaginative, delicately colored, and cheerful pen drawings, especially for children's books.
..... Click the link for more information.  produced a host of magnificent books beginning in 1900 with The Fairy Tales of Grimm. His work is noted for brilliant use of color and dramatic, detailed composition. Ernest Shepard's drawings for A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and for an edition of Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows (1931) are warm and humorous.

The Golden Age of Illustration

After a decline during the early 1920s, the golden age of the picture book began with the publication of Wanda Gág's Millions of Cats (1928). In 1938 the American Library Association instituted the Caldecott Medal for the most distinctive American picture book for children. The first recipient was Dorothy Lathrop for Animals of the Bible (1937). A number of major illustrators whose works are still popular emerged in the 1930s. Kurt Wiese illustrated Kipling's Mowgli Stories (1936). Helen Sewell employed a realistic style for The First Bible (1934).

Maud and Miska Petersham's The Christ Child (1931) and Jean de BrunhoffBrunhoff, Jean de
, 1899–1937, French author and illustrator of children's books, b. Paris. He wrote and illustrated The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant (1932), the tale of a kind, gentle, elegantly attired elephant king in the Edwardian mold.
..... Click the link for more information. 's broadly drawn, delightful Story of Babar, the Little Elephant (1931) were among the outstanding books of the 30s. Robert Lawson's Ben and Me (1939) was the first of many witty books that he wrote and illustrated, including Rabbit Hill (1944) and The Fabulous Flight (1949). Dr. SeussSeuss, Dr.,
pseud. of Theodor Seuss Geisel,
1904–91, American author and illustrator of children's books, b. Springfield, Mass. His books are known for their blend of whimsy, zany humor, catchy verse, and outlandish illustrations.
..... Click the link for more information. 's popular, cleverly drawn books for young children began with And to Think that I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937). Boris ArtzybasheffArtzybasheff, Boris
, 1899–1965, American draftsman, illustrator, writer, and cartoonist, b. Kharkiv, Russia (now in Ukraine); son of Mikhail Petrovich Artzybashev. In 1919 he went to New York City, where he worked in an engraving shop.
..... Click the link for more information.  illustrated Aesop and The Seven Simeons (both 1937) with bold woodcuts.

In the next decade Robert McCloskeyMcCloskey, Robert
(John Robert McCloskey) , 1914–2003, American writer and illustrator of children's books, b. Hamilton, Ohio. He studied at the Vesper George Art School, Boston, the National Academy of Design, New York City, and, after serving in World War II, at the
..... Click the link for more information.  produced superb illustrations for Make Way for Ducklings (1941). Garth Williams's realistic, expressive drawings brought to life E. B. White's Stuart Little (1945) and Charlotte's Web (1952). The painter Maxfield ParrishParrish, Maxfield,
1870–1966, American painter and illustrator, b. Philadelphia; pupil of Howard Pyle. He is known for his original and highly decorative posters, magazine covers, and book illustrations and for his murals, including decorations for the building of the
..... Click the link for more information.  created a series of glowing and colorful illustrations for a children's version of The Arabian Nights (1947). Wesley Dennis created powerful watercolors for many horse books by Marguerite Henry. The first book in the charming Madeleine series, written and illustrated in a broad, painterly style by Ludwig BemelmansBemelmans, Ludwig,
1898–1962 American author and illustrator of children's books, b. Meran, Austria-Hungary (now in Italy), to Belgian and German parents. Trained in the hotel and restaurant business, he immigrated to New York City (1914), served the U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. , appeared in 1939; his Parsley (1953), the story of a stag, incorporates a colorful catalog of wildflowers. Marcia Brown's Puss in Boots (1952) is light and whimsical.

The 1960s and Beyond

During the 1960s a number of seldom-used techniques were introduced, and color printing was much improved. Drawing was freed from the constraints of realistic representation, and fantastic imagery flourished. Photography enriched texts, as in Astrid Sucksdorff's Chendru (1960). Illustrations combining graphic art and collage graced Ezra Jack KeatsKeats, Ezra Jack,
1916–83, American author and illustrator of children's books, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Jacob Ezra Katz. During the Great Depression, he painted murals for the Works Progress Administration and illustrated comic books, then joined the U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. 's The Snowy Day (1962) and Leo Lionni's Inch by Inch (1960). Outstanding folk and fairy tales in a picture-book format include Adrienne Adams's Shoemaker and the Elves (1960) and Evaline Ness's Tom Tit Tot (1965).

A landmark in illustrated books of the 1960s is Maurice SendakSendak, Maurice Bernard,
1928–2012, American writer and illustrator of children's books, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Largely self-taught, he was widely acclaimed as the 20th-century's most important childrens' book artist.
..... Click the link for more information. 's Where the Wild Things Are (1963), depicting a surreal and menacing world of make-believe creatures. Sendak's Higgelty Piggelty Pop; or, There Must Be More to Life (1967) is a fantasy reminiscent of Tenniel's work. His In the Night Kitchen (1970) depicts a dream world in robust detail; it was the first children's book to portray nudity. Sendak's style has had a profound influence on contemporary illustration, as in Harriet Pincus's droll figures for Carl Sandburg's The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom Handle and Who Was in It (1967) and Mercer Mayer's comic A Boy, a Dog, a Frog, and a Friend (1967). Mayer's book spawned a number of books in which the story is carried entirely by pictures.

In the mid-1960s a new kind of picture book emerged in which the illustrations dominate the text. Ben Montresor's illustrations for Cinderella (1965) and for Stephen Spender's The Magic Flute (1966) are based on his opera stage designs and incorporate the glittering color of that medium. Brian Wildsmith made expressive use of intense, jewellike colors for many works including La Fontaine's The Lion and the Rat (1963) and Little Wood Duck (1972). Eric CarleCarle, Eric,
1929–, American children's book author and illustrator, b. Syracuse, N.Y. He attended the Academy of Applied Arts, Stuttgart, Germany, then worked as a graphic designer in New York City.
..... Click the link for more information. 's bright, bold collages made from painted tissue paper debuted in Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (1967), and his Very Hungry Caterpillar (1967) has become a preschool classic. Among artists who choose to interpret a single type of book to which their styles are best suited, is Nancy Ekholm Burkert, whose specialty is fantasy and fairy tales; in Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs (1972) her sweeping design and minute detail recall the works of Rackham. Margot and Harve Zemach illustrate and retell folk stories, including the rollicking Duffy and the Devil (1973).

By the 1970s children's book illustration had developed into an artistic feast of incredible variety and richness, expressive of a particularly imaginative range of individual creativity. The 1980s and 90s produced a number of remarkable illustrators as well, including Chris Van AllsburgVan Allsburg, Chris,
1949–, American writer and illustrator of children's books, b. East Grand Rapids, Mich., B.F.A. Univ. of Michigan, 1972, M.F.A. Rhode Island School of Design, 1975.
..... Click the link for more information. , Barry Moser, Jerry Pinkney, Alice and Martin Provensen, Trina Schart Hyman, Susan Jeffers, and Jeanette Winter.

Bibliography

See B. Hürlimann, Picture Book World (1965); R. S. Freeman, Children's Picture Books (1967); B. Doyle, The Who's Who of Children's Literature (1968); M. Hoffman and E. Samuels, Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books (1972); L. E. Lacy, Art and Design in Children's Picture Books (1986); P. Nodelman, Words about Pictures (1989); J. I. Whalley and T. R. Chester, The Bright Stream (1989).