Storytime, Rackham Arthur, Story Illustration, Early 1900s

Date: Early 1900s

Artist: Rackham Arthur

Paper Size: 150 x 220mm

Print Size: 125 x 165mm

Condition: Good

Technique: Lithograph printed in colour

Price: $95

Description: This is a beautiful colour lithograph suitable for a children's room or nursery

Biography:

Rackham Arthur 

Born in Lambeth, London on September 19, 1867, Arthur Rackham was a prolific artist from a young age. Sneaking pencils into his bed to draw under the covers, he eventually resorted to drawing on his pillow case when paper was taken from him. Inspired to become an artist while traveling to Australia in 1884, Rackham drew avidly during his journey, and also began painting in watercolor. Though his father insisted he enter the business sector, Rackham enrolled at the Lambeth School of Art, which he attended in the evenings after finishing a day’s work as a junior clerk in the Westminster Fire Office. He continued to work in the Fire Office until 1892, and labored tirelessly after business hours to produce drawings and watercolors to submit to illustrated newspapers.

 In 1888 a watercolor he painted of Winchelsea, Australia was accepted by the Royal Academy of Art and sold for two guineas. Beginning in 1892, Rackham began illustrating for the Westminster Budget Newspaper, a job he kept until 1896. The majority of the illustrations for the Westminster Budget were more conventional, and only a few submitted to this and other London newspapers showed his imaginative side. It was during this time that Rackham became particularly interested in book illustration, a place where he could focus his creative efforts.

 Rackham’s entrance into book illustration began with a guidebook of Canada and the United States entitled To the Other Side (1893), and later on, The Ingoldsby Legends (1898) and Tales from Shakespeare (1899) which were considered his two most successful illustrated books at the time. Both of these works were re-issued less than a decade later as deluxe editions (with additional illustrations by Rackham) due to his success at the turn of the century.

 The year 1900 marked the breakthrough of Rackham’s success as a book illustrator with the publication of his illustrated The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. This book featured ninety-nine black-and-white drawings with a colour frontispiece. Two new editions were issued within ten years of the original, with new and edited illustrations by Rackham in each. The most notable of these editions is considered to be the one released in 1909. Rackham continued to succeed in his illustrations of fairy tales and fantasy stories, attributing the success to his intimate familiarity with the texts.  

To read more go to: www. https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/arthur-rackham