Arthur Rackham 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.
Rackham was born in London as one of twelve siblings and spent his early education at the prestigious City of London School. 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, he began reporting and illustrating for a number of London newspapers. 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.
The first book illustrated specifically on commission was The Zankiwank and the Bletherwitch (1896), which marked 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, his future wife. She helped him expand his artistic range, moving away from simpler techniques of pure line drawing towards intricate washes of colour.
The first widely distributed ‘gift book’ was Rip van Winkle, published in 1905. It 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. J.M Barrie 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. By this point Rackham was at his artistic peak, offered so many commissions that he frequently had to decline.
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.’ 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).
In his last decade, Rackham’s greatest triumph came in 1936 when he was given a final chance to illustrate The Wind in the Willows. Though he experienced great difficulty in completing the work, the end result was a masterpiece of children’s illustration and a beautiful reminder of the innocence and sensibilities of the Victorian age.
(source: https://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/arthur-rackham-biography/)