Edward Ardizzone: Artist and Illustrator

We’re delighted to be publishing the first book to provide a fully illustrated survey of the work of Edward Ardizzone, considered one of the greatest illustrators of his generation, in September 2016.

Edward Ardizzone RA (1900–79) was one of relatively few British artists who defined the field of illustration for their generation. Although his work as an artist and illustrator was wide-ranging, it is for his illustrated children’s books, almost continuously available since they were first published in the late 1930s, that he is best known. This book provides the first fully illustrated survey of Ardizzone’s work, analysing his activity as an artist and illustrator in the context of 20th-century British art, illustration, printing and publishing.

Alan Powers (author of the bestselling Eric Ravilious: Artist and Designer) has written a critically considered text which draws for the first time on the Ardizzone family’s archives, those of Ardizzone’s publishers, and conversations with those who knew the artist.

Here’s a preview of some of the images from the book:

Edward Ardizzone, On the Road to Tropoli: A Cup of Tea for the Burial Party, 1943, Imperial War Museum

Edward Ardizzone, Cover for H.J. Kaeser, Mimff: The Story of a Boy Who Was Not Afraid, Oxford University Press, 1939, Photolithograph

Edward Ardizzone, Cover with Kate Greenaway Medal sticker for Tim All Alone, Oxford University Press, 1956, Photolithograph

Edward Ardizzone, Vignette from title page, Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain, Oxford University Press, 1936. Photolithograph from line and wash original

Edward Ardizzone: Artist and Illustrator, by Alan Powers is publishing September 2016, to coincide with a major exhibition of Ardizzone’s illustration work, Ardizzone: A Retrospective, at the House of Illustration, London, 23 September 2016 to 15 January 2017, co-curated by Alan Powers and House of Illustration’s Olivia Ahmad.