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Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham: Encyclopedia - Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham (September 19, 1867 – September 6, 1939) was a prolific British book illustrator. Rackham, widely considered among the greatest book illustrators of all time, was born in London as one of 12 children. At 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 innumerable books. In 1903, he married Edyth Star ...

Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham: Encyclopedia - Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham

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

Rackham, widely considered among the greatest book illustrators of all time, was born in London as one of 12 children. At 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 innumerable 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.

Major works of 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) and many others. While he may be best known for his elaborate child literature illustrations, he also illustrated books for adult readers, e.g. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1908), Undine (1909), The Rhinegold and the Valkyrie (1911) (a.k.a. Das Rheingold)), and several fairy tale books.