the illustrators of Beatrix Potter stories

I know; you'd think that Potter's illustrations don't need any assistance or further references.

But illustrators must draw what they love, eh?

And there have been enough works to warrant it's own thread.

First, let's look at Miss Potter's work.

There are a couple of collections that are very much worth long looks.

Way back in 1956, Anne Carroll Moore edited The Art of Beatrix Potter. (Well shoot, touchstones are not clear.)



my review:
Over 300 pages of double sided glossy color prints; compactly sized, but HEAVY. Frederick Warne Co. did a real service for fans in collecting and sorting Potter's work, both published and unpublished. In the first chapter, one gets to see the process of excellence throughout Potter's childhood and adolescence. The next chapters collect painting by theme - interiors, exteriors, gardens, animals, and so forth. It allows for an appreciation of the range of experimentation and how Potter was able to incorporate direct observation into her published stories. One aspect that is rarely explored is Potter's botanical work.
The color and printing processes are outdated, and quality is not as good as Emily Zach's new book, but this is a treasure nonetheless.

Which leads to Emily Zach's very recent effort, with the same title:



my review:
I spent a good long respectful time examining the artwork and reading the background material. I had no idea how much there is to admire of Potter's accomplishments. She was a mycologist and also wrote a paper on the theory of lichen symbiosis, which was later proven true. She couldn't even present her own paper because she was female.

For reference, I recommend

At Home with Beatrix Potter, by Susan Denyer, which is worth it just for the magnificent photography. I guarantee you'll want to own this book.



And Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales, by Marta McDowell. (I see that this is a Timber Press publication. Must review it.)



And then going a bit further, you might like to read a book or two by a present day shepherd in the Lake District, James Rebanks. These are short, fact-filled vignette books, and he has some pretty fine photographs of the district himself.



and

To celebrate her 150th birthday. Penguin books (though I'm sure Frederick Warne was involved too) asked illustrators to contribute to A Celebration of Beatrix Potter: Art and letters by more than 30 of today's favorite children's book illustrators. This is where I discovered a wealth of other images, and will attempt to flesh out this thread.



Although the book blurb boasts 30 artists, I counted 21. I'll have to look again. I may have undercounted spots like the cover image.

My review:
Twenty-one artists take Potter stories and run with them. We get sample pages of the stories and then each artist has a page of discussion and an illustration. What fun!!

My favorite interpretations mostly include Mr. McGregor and Jeremy Fisher.
Brendan Wenzel, David Ezra Stein (who has a wonderful story of how he and his children play MrMcGregor in order to sneak-eat vegetables - “Rabbits!”); Jon Agee; Kelly Murphy. I can’t decide among them which is favorite.
Chuck Groenink does a nice, cozy Jeremy Fisher. Tony diTerlizzi’s JF is vital, modern and compelling.
Jen Corace does a wonderfully angry Hunca Munca.
Judy Schachner does Mr. Toad – wearing bunny slippers!

And.... the book that prompted this exploration thread.

I bumped into my copy of The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit and Other Favorite Stories, illustrated by Charles Santore. I'm struggling with whether I should keep or discard it.



As another reviewer states: "Now, it's not that the illustrations are bad, they're actually somewhat in the style of the original, much unlike for instance the drawings of David McPhail in that infamous Scholastic edition -The Tale Of Peter Rabbit and some of them are actually pretty stunning, such as the picture of the trout jumping on Mr. Jeremy Fisher."

The similarities struck me too. On closer examination, Santore's rabbits differ mostly from Potters in having eyelashes. That small detail makes them appear too cute. Sugar overload.

But as I noted in >3 2wonderY:, My favorite interpretations mostly include Mr. McGregor and Jeremy Fisher. And Santore does a dang decent job here.



and



and the trout:

another wonderful thread with many temptations! Thanks, I think! LOL (I'm still waiting for some of the Wind in the Willows books I ordered to arrive, buying triggered by the wonderful thread started in this group. Slightly off topic, but so far my favorite Willows illustrator is David Petersen, followed by Helen Ward.)

I look forward to future posts in this thread...

I received the new Art of Beatrix Potter through Early Reviewers last year and it really is gorgeous. Several of my friends have bought a copy or added it to their wishlists after seeing mine (it is a little pricey for some of us!). What I really love is that it really is a more comprehensive art book than just the storybook illustrations.

I've had so many of the little books in my life, with different features...somehow Peter Rabbit has been the go-to for baby things until the explosion of Pink vs Blue...but it's my complete tales that has stuck around with its tattered dust cover and full-page illustrations. I think I would really like to see A Celebration... with other illustrators' interpretations. Those sorts of things always tend to be really lovely and a great way to find new artists to follow.

Since David McPhail was mentioned disparagingly in that other member's review of Charles Santore's book, I thought I'd start there.

Searching McPhail and Potter in my library, I found four titles.

He wrote and illustrated a biography of her - Beatrix Potter and Her Paint Box. I'm neutral on it.

I found a board book called Peter Rabbit's Happy Easter which is clearly just a seasonal one-off.

He treated the whole Peter Rabbit story for Scholastic, and I found it in Hop To It!: A Scholastic Easter Treasury

Because the fourth book The Penguin Book of Classic Children's Characters actually held Potter's version and McPhail's Pig Pig, I was able to compare them side by side.

I think McPhail's animals are very similar to Santore's, with those eyelashes, and otherwise, adds nothing to the story as originally illustrated. It was derivative and not inspired. His MacGregor was not appealing. His scene work copied Potter without any freshness.

Check back later, I'll try to find some examples to post.

(Oh, and the Penguin book allowed me to re-visit with a couple of my favorites - Ferdinand, Miss Rumphius and Homer Price.

ran across this quiz in The Guardian this morning (not new, but fun)

https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/quiz/2015/jul/28/beatrix-potter...

McPhail

>8 rhinemaiden: I can't choose just one answer for most of those questions.

For instance

"2.Where would you most like to live?


A cosy house


A busy farm


A secretive underground den


An island "

In my case, it'd have to be a cozy house on a busy farm!!

Yummy!

I don't know anything about Beatrix Potter, and would enjoy looking through those "coffee table" books. Maybe our library has copies.

I can't enjoy any of these other illustrations of Beatrix Potter's work. Hate to be a curmudgeon, but for me, the illustrations are the story and cannot be separated or changed.

>10 2wonderY: Haha! I want to live in a cosy house on a busy farm on an island with a secretive underground den for my fermenting projects! :)

In the bottom of one of my boxes, I found this oversize papercloth book, published by Saalfield in 1942:



The artist is Ethel Hays, who moved from drawing flapper cartoons in the 20s to illustrating classic children's stories once she had children of her own.

More cartoony than Potter's work; and once you look at the scenery - very much akin to all the other Saalfield imagery, with billowy clouds beyond the fenceline and bright primary colors. Most of the other animals also wear some amount of clothing. The cat at the goldfish pond looks like a cute stuffed animal in a red dress, not at all menacing.

I love papercloth books! My children had some that were chewable and could stand up to the bath. Have to teach them to read in the bath early. ;)

Anna Pomaska appears to have managed Dover Publications childrens' department single-handedly. She is credited with a long list of classics.

I came across this book today, and tried to determine if she is actually the artist, as is implied. Most of the figures appear to be faithful to Potter's drawings. The one that rings untrue to me is Mr. McGregor. Potter drew him taller. lankier.

Researching the character, I came across the 2018 live action film Peter Rabbit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Rabbit_(film)

I was attracted to Sam Neill's good resemblance to the original drawings.


And it was easy to find parts of the film. Please don't bother! The plot and characters violate all we know about the story. (Though I did like Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.)

I remembered this thread while cleaning the toy corner at grandbaby’s house today. A very old jigsaw puzzle (made of wood!) features The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, illustrated by Allen Atkinson



It’s got some nice details. I like the owl especially.

The box is in tatters and I’m rescuing to a large ziplock bag.