Arthur Rackham

An illustration from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Arthur Rackham (September 19, 1867 – September 6, 1939) was a prolific English book illustrator.

Life

He was born in London as one of 12 children. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying at the Lambeth School of Art. In 1892 he quit his clerk job and started working for The Westminster Budget as a reporter and illustrator. His first book illustrations were published in 1893. From then, until his death in 1939, he illustrated numerous books.

In 1903, he married Edyth Starkie, with whom he had one daughter, Barbara, in 1908. Rackham won a gold medal at the Milan International Exhibition in 1906 and another one at the Barcelona International Exposition in 1911. His works were included in numerous exhibitions, including one at the Louvre in Paris in 1914. Arthur Rackham died 1939 of cancer in his home in Limpsfield, Surrey.

Works

Major works of illustration by Arthur Rackham include the children's books Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1900), Rip van Winkle (1905), Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1906), and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1907). While he may be best known for his elaborate illustrations of children's literature and fairy tales, he also illustrated books for adult readers, including A Midsummer Night's Dream (1908), Undine (1909), the text to Richard Wagner's opera cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen" ("The Ring of the Nibelung") (1911), short stories by Edgar Allan Poe.

Gallery

• 
  "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman."
  Illustration to a 1918 English Fairy Tales, by Flora Annie Steel
• 
  "How at the Castle of Corbin a Maiden Bare in the Sangreal and Foretold the Achievements of Galahad", from The Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, by Alfred W. Pollard, 1917
• 
  "To make my small elves coats." Illustration to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
• 
  "Come, now a roundel." Illustration to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
• 
  "The giant Galligantua and the wicked old magician transform the duke's daughter into a white hind", Illustration to English Fairy Tales, by Flora Annie Steel
• 
  "The giant Cormoran was the terror of all the country-side.", Illustration to English Fairy Tales, by Flora Annie Steel
• 
  "The Three Bears", Illustration to English Fairy Tales, by Flora Annie Steel
• "Siegfried awakens Brünnhilde" Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
  "Siegfried awakens Brünnhilde" Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
• 
  "The giants seize Freya", Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
• 
  "Norns weaving destiny" Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
• 
  "Brünnhilde is visited by her Valkyrie sister Waltraute" Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
• 
  "Alberich speaking to Hagen" Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
• 
  "Rhine maidens warn Siegfried" Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
• 
  Siegfried kills Fafner Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
• "The Rhinemaidens try to reclaim their gold" Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
  "The Rhinemaidens try to reclaim their gold" Illustration to Richard Wagner's "The Ring"
• 
  "The Twa Corbies", Illustration to Some British Ballads

Influence

In one of the featurettes on the DVD of Pan's Labyrinth, director Guillermo Del Toro cites Rackham as an influence on the design of "The Faun" and other creatures in the film.

See also

Walt Disney also cited Rackham as a main influence for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

External links

• Works by Arthur Rackham at Project Gutenberg
• The Arthur Rackham Society
• Arthur Rackham and his art
• The Illustrators Project: Arthur Rackham
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
• Arthur Rackham art at Art Passions (free online gallery)
• SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages: Fairy Tale Illustrations of Arthur Rackham
• Children's Book Illustrators Gallery - Large Archive of Rackham's First edition illustrations
• Update to Arthur Rackham bibliography in "Studies in Illustration"