Self Portrait, 1934
Arthur Rackham, nicknamed ' the beloved enchanter’, who is best known for his for his lush, detailed illustrations depicting
the mystical world of fantasy and fairy tales, was born in, Lambeth. London on September 19, 1867.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 artwork.
From a solidly middle-class family, Rackham was not encouraged to go
into art and he embarked on an artist’s career tentatively by working as
a clerk during the day and devoting himself to artistic study in the
evening at the Lambeth School of Art. However, by 1892 he was ready to leave his office job to
become a reporter and illustrator for The Westminster Budget. Rackham
recalled this has one of his most trying periods as an artist, ‘distasteful hack work’ as he described it. but the
work served as additional training and he continued to hone his craft.
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 Arthur Rackham’s long and illustrious career as .one of the leading artists of the Golden Age of Illustration:
a period of time spanning from about the 1880s to the 1920s, and is widely acknowledged as one of the most iconic fantasy artists who ever lived. It was in this period that in 1898 over a garden wall that Rackham met the Irish portrait painter and sculpter 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.
In 1903 after he marred Edyth Starkie she encouraged him to
indulge his fancy for fantastical scenes of fairies and elves. The
couple had a daughter, Barbara, in 1908. Rackham cemented his position as one of the preeminent illustrators of his day for his illustrations for The Fairy Tales of the Brothers
Grimm.This book featured ninety-nine black-and-white drawings with a color
frontispiece. Two new editions were issued within ten years of the
original, with new and edited illustrations by Rackham in each.
Largely influenced by Aubrey Beardsley, George Cruikshank, Randolph Caldecott, and Richard Doyle
during the beginning and height of his career, Rackham’s style remained
unique and set him apart from contemporaries and competitors.
Rip van Winkle,
published in 1905 contained fifty-one 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 style, 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. He followed it up with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1907.which proved to be much more controversial because of the already beloved version illustrated by John Tenniel. Nonetheless, Rackham’s watercolors for Lewis Carroll’s beloved story were largely a success, because by this point Rackham was at his artistic peak.
Around this time he being 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 classic story, the Wind in the Willows, turned down in order to complete A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Shakespearean drawings were a great accomplishment though, stunning pieces of work and imagination. .
Published in 1908, the ‘Arthur Rackham Fairies’ are some of his best-known work, with his ‘gnarled trees and droves of fairies… representing the visual reality of the Dream for thousands of readers.’ Fairies were deeply popular during Rackham' time, despite the allure for these mystical creatures waning over the years there has been a rsuranabe in popularity.
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 finest illustrations can be found in these dramas.
Despite his financial and professional success, Rackham never lost his quiet and unassuming manner, his love for magic, or his appeal to children.He firmly believed that children would benefit from the imaginative, the fantastic, and the playful, and he shwed the greatest respect for his child audience in all his works.
The demand for gift books and scenes of fantasy was much affected by the
grim realities of the war. After WWI, Rackham’s fame, however, still
garnered him lots of work unlike many other great illustrators of his
day and 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).
The 1930s were trying for the Rackhams as Edyth’s health declined and
shortly after, Rackham himself began to have health problems. Despite
these trials, Rackham continued to produce numerous illustrations, both
for reissued deluxe editions of his books, and additional commissions.
Deluxe editions of classics such as The Night Before Christmas (1931), Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen (1932), Goblin Market (1933), and The Arthur Rackham Fairy Book (1933) were released throughout the early 1930s. Rackham’s illustrations for Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen were especially successful, and the work was named the best picture book of the year by Hugh Walpole for The Observer
in 1932. By 1936, exhibitions of Rackham’s work took place all over the
world, though by now he was suffering from chronic illness and was
unable to produce the magnitude of work he once had.
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. In final triumph 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.
.His illustration to when Mole and Rattie meet the horned God Pan in my favorite chapter of the book The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is utterly gorgeous.
His now iconic illustrations are chilling, bewitching and continue to provide a colourful contrast to the dark winter months ahead.and his pictures are evocative of an age
when fairy tales seemed real and people believed in the magical past.Highlighting where the magical world overlaps – often subtly – with our
own, Rackham’s art reveals dreamlike realms where all manner of strange
and fantastical entities reside. Home to lovely maidens and delicate
fairies as well as mythical monsters and surreal beasts, there’s no
shortage of unusual characters in Rackham’s gritty fantasy worlds. This,
however, only serves to make these worlds more enticing, after all,
what’s a fairy tale without a little darkness and danger?
What I like so much about Arthur Rackham’s illustrations is that, even
when separated from the storybooks that inspired them, they still
communicate something meaningful and emotional to the viewer.In
imagination, draftsmanship and colour-blending, his work has never been
surpassed. His deep understanding of the spirit of myth, fable, and folklore
seems to have afforded him a transcendent range of deep expression His richly detailed work remains extremely artistically impressive, and it’s easy to
understand why his work continually enchants and delights both young and old in equal measure all these many years later. His palette, his fineness of line, and his exceptional translation of
literature to art whose influence on fantasy art and book illustration is
still very much apparent today.and he has since been propelled to the top of the list of the world’s
greatest illustrators of all time.His images have been widely used by the greeting card industry and many
of his books are still in print or have been recently available in both
paperback and hardback editions. His original drawings and paintings are
to this day keenly sought at the major international art auction
houses. His most lasting legacy, however, is the list of books that he
has illustrated, which reads like a Who’s Who of fairy tales, fantasy
and children’s stories.
"For children in their most impressionable years, there is, in fantasy, the highest of stimulating and educational powers."- Arthur Rackham.
Here are some of his autumn fairies, from Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, 1906.
