The Art of Arthur Rackham: Celebrating 150 Years of the Great British Artist , livre ebook

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164 pages

English

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In celebration of Arthur Rackham’s 150th birthday, this volume features 150 of the Golden Age Illustrator’s most beautiful works.

This gorgeous collection showcases a breadth of enchanting images from pioneering illustrator, Arthur Rackham. Featuring artwork from treasured classics such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and Undine, as well as his wondrous 1905 edition of Rip Van Winkle, and his final publication, The Wind in the Willows, this book is a treasure trove of Rackham’s talent. This volume would be the perfect gift for all lovers of Rackham’s art and those with an interest in the evolution of children’s book illustration.

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Artists' Books

Artists

Art

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Publié par	Read Books Ltd.
Date de parution	18 mai 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781528780179
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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The Art of Arthur Rackham

Celebrating 150 Years of the Great British Artist
Copyright 2017 Pook Press
An imprint of Read Publishing Ltd.
Home Farm, 44 Evesham Road, Cookhill, Alcester, Warwickshire, B49 5LJ
This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
www.pookpress.co.uk
Contents
Biography of Arthur Rackham
List of Plates
The Art of Arthur Rackham: Celebrating 150 Years of the Great British Artist
Biography of Arthur Rackham
Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 - 6 September 1939) was one of the most celebrated artists of the British Golden Age of Illustration; an artist who still delights both young and old over a century later. The Golden Age lasted from the latter quarter of the nineteenth century until just after the First World War and marked an amazing upsurge in the popularity, abundance and quality of illustrated works. Improvements in printing technology allowed publishers to produce lavish colour illustrations for the first time, a development which enabled Rackham to embark on the most prolific and prosperous creative work ever enjoyed by an English illustrator. Whether producing whimsical children s images or murkier, foreboding drawings for adults, Rackham s unique style of illustration was incredibly sought after. He eventually contributed to over 150 books, magazines and periodicals.
Rackham was born in London as one of twelve siblings, the third surviving child of Annie and Alfred Rackham. After a brief sojourn in Australia due to poor health, he spent his early education at the prestigious City of London School . Rackham won a couple of prizes for drawing during his school days, but showed little of the imaginative genius which marked his adult representations. Immediately after leaving school, Rackham started work as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office which financed his burgeoning artistic studies at the Lambeth School of Art . By 1892 however, Rackham left this somewhat banal clerking job and began reporting and illustrating for a number of London newspapers; distasteful hack work as he described it. During this period Rackham contributed occasional illustrations to magazines such as Scraps and Chums , efforts decidedly indicative of an artist in search of a style. His first book illustrations were for To the Other Side , a travel guide and now particularly rare book, and the Dolly Dialogues; published in 1893 and 1894 respectively. These publications marked the beginning of Rackham s long and illustrious career.
The first book illustrated specifically on commission was The Zankiwank and the Bletherwitch (1896), which marked the flowering of Rackham s lighter side. Whilst not the fantastical work of Rackham s later career, it presages the exuberant frivolity which was to become a significant element of his work. The real turning point came in 1900 however, when Rackham met the portrait painter Edith Starkie. She was to be his most stimulating, severest critic and future wife. Starkie helped Rackham expand his artistic range; moving away from simpler techniques of pure line drawing, towards intricate washes of colour. This shift could not have come at a more fortuitous moment, as technological advances in the printing process meant that Rackham s images could be photo-mechanically reproduced, thus removing the traditional middle-man of the engraver. This allowed Rackham to display his talent for line as well as his expert appreciation of the three-colour printing process; producing the luxurious colours and lavish details which made his reputation. The images were then pasted ( tipped in ) after the final book was printed, and whilst this was quite an expensive process, the results helped create the new gift book market.
The first widely distributed gift book was Rip van Winkle , published in 1905. It contained 51 colour plates - all drawn by Arthur Rackham, firmly establishing him as the leading decorative illustrator of the Edwardian period. Rackham created each plate by first painstakingly drawing his subject in a sinuous pencil line before applying an ink layer. He then used layer upon layer of delicate watercolours, reminiscent of the Art Nouveaux aesthete to build up the romantic yet calmly ethereal results on which his reputation was constructed. Most recognisable, in retrospect, is the good natured calmness of the drawings, conveying a non-threatening yet exciting thrill to their audience. Another practice established with Rip Van Winkle was for Rackham to promote each book with an exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in London. J.M Barrie attended this display, and was so impressed by Rackham s work that he asked him to illustrate Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens .
This was to be Rackham s next commercial success, becoming the outstanding Christmas gift-book of 1906 and of course, one of the most beloved children s books of all time. By this point Rackham was at his artistic peak, offered so many commissions that he frequently had to decline. The decision he most regretted was failing to illustrate the first edition of Kenneth Grahame s Wind in the Willows , turned down in order to complete A Midsummer Night s Dream . The Shakespearean drawings were a great accomplishment though. Published in 1908, Rackham s biographer has argued that his gnarled trees and droves of fairies, have represented the visual reality of the Dream for thousands of readers. Here he excelled especially in landscape, and in reconciling dream and reality, giving himself to the luxury of rich detail with a rare generosity. This publication was followed in rapid succession by three other books for adults; Undine (1909) The Rhinegold and the Valkyrie (1910) and Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods (1911). Many suggest that Rackham s best illustrations can be found in these dramas.
After the First World War, Rackham started producing work for the American market, illustrating a variety of books including, Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley (1925), Washington Irving s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1928), and Edgar Allan Poe s Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1935). In his last decade, Rackham s career continued to be productive, but his greatest triumph came in 1936. After Rackham had unfortunately declined to illustrate The Wind in the Willows , he was given a final chance in his twilight years. Taking up the offer with relish, Rackham experienced great difficulty in completing the work; exhausted and in failing health, he insisted that every detail must be right, down to the last oars in Rattie s boat. With great labour he worked and reworked the drawings to his eventual satisfaction. The end result was a masterpiece of children s illustration and a beautiful reminder of the innocence and sensibilities of the Victorian age.
Rackham died from cancer in 1939 at his home in Limpsfield, Surrey. He has become one of the best known and loved English illustrators, and the fact that his drawings are so avidly sought after today is a testament to his utmost skill and artistic imagination. As described by James Hamilton in a recent biographical study; he was - and remains - a soloist in front of an orchestra, a player with the responsibility to interpret and add a personal lustre to great works with variations of infinite subtlety and grace.
This book brings together 150 of Rackham s stunning images, sourced from rare and original books, in order that the modern reader may fully appreciate his art.
We hope that the current reader adores this book as much as we do. Enjoy.
Amelia Carruthers
Arthur Rackham .
Self Portrait, 1934.
List of Plates
PLATE
Rip Van Winkle, 1905.
1 He used to console himself by frequenting a kind of perpetual club of the sages, philosophers and other idle personages, which held its sessions before a small inn .
2 Peter was the most ancient inhabitant of the village .
Puck of Pook s Hill, 1906.
3 Hoity-toity, he cried. Here s Pride in purple feathers! Here s wrathy contempt and the Pomps of the Flesh! . . . And he doffed his cap to the bubbling bird .
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, 1906.
4 These tricky fairies sometimes slyly change the board on a ball night .
5 Peter Pan is the fairies orchestra .
6 Fairies never say, We feel happy ; what they say is, We feel dancey.
7 Looking very undancy indeed .
Alice s Adventures in Wonderland, 1907.
8 The Pool of Tears .
9 A Mad Tea Party .
10 At this the whole pack rose up into the air, and came flying down upon her .
Good-Night (Buenas Noches), 1907.
11 Advancing by soft steps came Tomasso the cat .
The Land of Enchantment, 1907.
12 A swarm of field-mice gnawed the quivers and bow-strings .
The Ingoldsby Legends, 1907.
13 Hey! Up the chimney, lass! Hey after you!
14 The little man had seated himself in the center of the circle upon the large skull .
15 The horn . . . Was blown with a loud twenty-trumpeter power .
A Midsummer-Night s Dream, 1908.
16 Titania lying asleep .
17 Hermia .
18 Fairies, away! We shall chide downright, if I longer stay .
19 Ere the Leviathan can swim a league .
20 I will sing, that they shall hear I am not afraid .
21 Lord, what fools these mortals be!
Gulliver s Travels, 1909.
22 Gulliver released from the strings raises and stretches himself .
23 Gulliver s combat with the wasps .
The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, 1909.
24 Away they flew over stock and stone, at such a pace that his hair whistled in the wind .
25 By day she made herself into a cat .
26 The cat stole away behind the city walls to the church .
27 Blow, blow, little breeze, and Conrad s hat seize .
28 The Witch climbed up .
29 All at once the door opened and an old woman, supporting herself on a crutch, came hobbling out .
30 Hansel put out a kn