Rackham and the Wind

Something I love about Arthur Rackham's work is how so many of his works feature a very exuberant wind. There's nothing as exhilarating as being caught up in a wild wind!

Arthur Rackham, "And now they never meet in grove or green," from act 2, scene 1 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, en and black ink and watercolor with scraping and minute touches of white gouache on artist’s illustration board, 1908, source: http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.651?artist=Arthur+Rackham

Arthur Rackham - Illustration for "Till Eulenspiegel"

I am an admirer of Arthur Rackham and am often to be found scouring places for his work. It's great fun to get lost in the online galleries of museums and dream of one day seeing the works in person. I stumble across this beauty of his in the Metropolitan's gallery. I have never read the story it's from, but now I must see if I can get my hands on it. How terrifying and haunting the figures are. I wonder if the fact that it was done right in the middle of WWI had anything to do with the darkness and fear in this painting.

Arthur Rackham,  Illustration for "Till Eulenspiegel", watercolour, pen, ink, and guache on paper, 1916

Florence Harrison

I recently discovered this enchanting illustrator from the Golden Age of illustration. Her name is Florence Harrison, and for over sixty years her identity was unknown. Female artists, as just about everyone knows, were overlooked and and under appreciated for quite a long time, but female illustrators were practically ignored for the simple fact that illustrators in general are considered a lower life form in the art world even today. So it isn't surprising that no one knew who she was. Even the names Arthur Rackham and Maxfield Parrish earn sneers from many of those who consider themselves fine artists or art critics.

But Florence Harrison's work is stellar. It's absolutely enchanting, and her line work and use of color are sensitive and sophisticated. She has ties to the Pre-Raphaelite movement as well, having illustrated a volume of Christina Rossetti's poems. Just take a look at some of these enchanting works, and then read more about her on http://www.florenceharrison.com/herlife.html.

Maiden Song, Florence Harrison

Rapunzel, Florence Harrison 

A Birthday, Florence Harrison 

Night Slid Down, Florence Harrison 

Dreamland, Florence Harrison 

Dream Love, Florence Harrison