Background
Kate Greenaway was born in 1846 in Hoxton, London, England. She was the second daughter of John Greenaway, a draughtsman and engraver.
(This charming volume brings back into print some of the f...)
This charming volume brings back into print some of the finest illustrated children's books from the Arts and Crafts Movement: Kate Greenaway's much-loved alphabet book, A Apple Pie, along with a selection of her illustrated nursery rhymes.Greenaway's drawings conjure up a never-never land of rural simplicity and innocencean escape from the squalor of Victorian citiesthat is as delightful now as it was when these gems of children's literature first appeared in the 1880s.
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Kate Greenaway was born in 1846 in Hoxton, London, England. She was the second daughter of John Greenaway, a draughtsman and engraver.
Kate Greenaway had been sent to school at what would become the Royal Academy of Art in 1858, and after she had won local and national awards for her work in 1861 and 1864, she continued to work with dolls and fabric.
In 1868, at the age of 22, Kate Greenaway had an exhibition of her watercolors at the Dudley Gallery in Piccadilly.
The significance of the pictures in terms of her career, however, was that they "caught the eye of an editor and led to a commission for illustrations for People's magazine and later for Christmas cards and valentines for Marcus Ward, " declares Lundin.
"In 1870 she received a commission to illustrate an edition of Madame D'Aulney's Fairy Tales.
She also began contributing to Little Folks, the Illustrated London News, and Cassell's magazine, and she exhibited for the first time at the Royal Academy in 1877.
"Greenaway's largest influence on her art work at this time came from the artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which was formed in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
"This trio of artists, " writes Holme, "protested the ravages of modern industry, but their plea for a return to simplicity, sincerity, and respect for nature had no bearing beyond the immediate world of British art.
Yet in that world, within a decade, they became gods. "
Many of her early cards and valentines, such as those that appeared in The Quiver of Love: A Collection of Valentines (1876) show the Pre-Raphaelite influence on her work.
Their correspondence continued until the critic's death in 1900.
Much of Greenaway's earliest work appeared in the publications of Marcus Ward & Company, which published her art work on their cards, calendars, and books.
"Over the years, " writes Holme, "hitherto unknown books containing one or more Greenaway illustrations have turned up in the rare-book market. "
Her "earliest free-lance work also included odd jobs for Messrs. Kronheim and Company, the giant color printers of Shoe Lane, " the critic continues.
The Kronheim connection led to the publication of her first illustrated book: Diamonds and Toads (1871).
Other books featuring Greenaway illustrations published in the early 1870 included The Children of the Parsonage, Fairy Gifts; or, A Wallet of Wonders, and Topo.
The artist's aspirations, however, went beyond simply illustrating books written by other people.
"Greenaway's ambition was to publish a book of her own verses and drawings based on her memories of Rolleston, street rhymes, and favorite childhood stories, " explains Lundin.
"She dressed her characters in the old-fashioned clothing so common in Rolleston: high-waisted gowns, smocks, and mobcaps.
She accompanied these drawings with her own verse, based on nursery-rhyme morals and make-believe. "
Evans was "a pioneer color printer who had already created successful productions of Walter Crane's toy books and had recently engaged Randolph Caldecott for a similar series, " states Lundin.
One-third of the profits went to Greenaway.
"These four books marked the pinnacle of Greenaway's critical and commercial success.
However, her reputation was further spread by a series of yearly almanacs, published first by Routledge and later by Dent.
"The almanacs were booklets with variant bindings that contained monthly calendars and in which the surprise from year to year was in Greenaway's choice of decorations for the seasons, " writes Lundin.
Their sales were more erratic than those of Greenaway's major books-except in the United States, Lundin says, where "the almanacs had a greater following … with sales often twice that of the British market. "
The Almanack for 1883, the best-selling of her collection, sold 90, 000 copies throughout Great Britain, the United States, France, and Germany.
These almanacs and Greenaway's other publications brought out a "Greenaway Vogue" that began shortly after the publication of Under the Window and continued for some time.
"Numerous imitations, piracies, and spinoffs were produced without her permission, an onslaught that popularized her name by adversely affected her livelihood and stature, " says Lundin.
(This charming volume brings back into print some of the f...)
Kate Greenaway's subjects were, in the main, young girls, children, flowers, and landscape; and the air of artless simplicity, freshness, humour, and purity of these little works so appealed to public and artists alike that the enthusiastic welcome habitually accorded to them is to be attributed to something more than love of novelty.