Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator.

He studied at the Lambeth School of Art and was elected to membership in the Royal Watercolour Society and the Society Nationale des Beaux Arts, and became Master of the Art Workers’ Guild.

Rackham won a gold medal at the Milan International Exhibition in 1906 and another one at the Barcelona International Exposition in 1912 1911. His works were included in numerous exhibitions, including one at the Louvre in Paris in 1914

 Rackham invented his own unique technique which resembled photographic reproduction; he would first sketch an outline of his drawing, then lightly block in shapes and details. Afterwards he would add lines in pen and India ink, removing the pencil traces after it had dried. With colour pictures, he would then apply multiple washes of colour until transparent tints were created. He would also go on to expand the use of silhouette cuts in illustration work.
Typically, Rackham contributed both colour and monotone illustrations towards the works incorporating his images - and in the case of Hawthorne's Wonder Book, he also provided a number of part-coloured block images similar in st
yle to Meiji era Japanese woodblocks.

Rackham ilustrated books as Brothers Grimm stories (1900), Rip van Winkle (1905), Peter Pan (1906), Alicia in Wonderland(1907), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1908), Undine (1909), The Rhinegold and the Valkyrie (1911)...