Nurture
Jacqueline Ayer, Little Silk doll, 1970
Jacqueline Ayer (1930–2012) had a career that spanned many creative fields. She began as a fashion illustrator, and later turned her hand to children’s books, textiles and garments, as she worked in New York, Paris, London, Bangkok, Hong Kong and across India. Ayer’s fifth book, Little Silk, is about a lost doll who eventually finds her way to a loving home. It takes place in Hong Kong, where Ayer lived with her daughters from 1963 to 1965.
Untitled illustration for Jackanory (Just So Stories: The Cat who Walked by Himself), 1973
Janina Ede (1937-2018) created covers and illustrations for over 100 books in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Many of her illustrations feature animals, which she drew from life. In the 1970s, Ede was commissioned to create large colourful illustrations for the BBC children’s television series, Jackanory. Each episode was dedicated to a story read by an actor, while specially commissioned illustrations were shown on screen during each programme. Some of these illustrations were for programmes featuring stories by author Rudyard Kipling. His ‘Just So’ stories were short tales that imagined how various animals attained their distinguishing features. Kipling set the stories in parts of India, West Asia and Africa. His descriptions of places and people included racist and exoticised stereotypes. Ede’s illustrations draw extensively on Kipling’s descriptions, and therefore reflect the racism in his work, as well as the prevailing stereotypical views that existed in 1970s Britain. Her own personal views are not documented. This storyboard illustration was produced by Janina Ede for Jackanory episode #1452, 'Just So Stories - The Cat that Walked by Himself'. It aired on 3 January 1973.
Untitled, 1846
Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825 – 1916) illustrated poetry and prose by some of the most popular authors of her time. She regularly drew and painted using ink and watercolour, sketching landscapes, animals and her children from life. She also made drawings from her imagination, often reflecting spiritual themes.
Illustration for Beauty and the Beast (Beauty with the watch dog), c. 1875
Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825 – 1916) illustrated poetry and prose by some of the most popular authors of her time. She regularly drew and painted using ink and watercolour, sketching landscapes, animals and her children from life. She also made drawings from her imagination, often reflecting spiritual themes. This illustration is from Boyle’s 1875 retelling of Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale where a woman is imprisoned by a monster and falls in love with him. Unlike other illustrated versions before or since, Boyle gave her beast walrus-like tusks and flippers. In several of her illustrations, Boyle used shell gold – a mixture of finely ground gold powder and gum arabic (tree sap) that would have been stored in a shallow seashell. In the final publication, the caption for this illustration reads, "One cold March day, the little maid ran down to the outer court, with her new scarlet cloak, to wrap her friend the old watch dog in!"
Untitled, 1848
Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825 – 1916) illustrated poetry and prose by some of the most popular authors of her time. She regularly drew and painted using ink and watercolour, sketching landscapes, animals and her children from life. She also made drawings from her imagination, often reflecting spiritual themes.
Illustration for 'A Dream Book', 1869
Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825 – 1916) illustrated poetry and prose by some of the most popular authors of her time. She regularly drew and painted using ink and watercolour, sketching landscapes, animals and her children from life. She also made drawings from her imagination, often reflecting spiritual themes.
Untitled, Date unknown
Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825 – 1916) illustrated poetry and prose by some of the most popular authors of her time. She regularly drew and painted using ink and watercolour, sketching landscapes, animals and her children from life. She also made drawings from her imagination, often reflecting spiritual themes.
Untitled, Date unknown
Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825 – 1916) illustrated poetry and prose by some of the most popular authors of her time. She regularly drew and painted using ink and watercolour, sketching landscapes, animals and her children from life. She also made drawings from her imagination, often reflecting spiritual themes.
