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The artists behind the pictures

We remember the authors and forget the people who drew the books. These are the illustrators and printmakers whose pictures are on Picturepops™ cards: who they were, what they drew, and where their originals are kept.

43 artists

The departure, with Montmorency the dog: illustration by A. Frederics, Three Men in a Boat (Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, 1889), page 71 · Public domain (published 1889; scan from Internet Archive)
A. FredericsIllustrator · c. 1848-1929 (identification uncertain)Little-known artist who drew the first pictures for Three Men in a Boat.Cards coming
Children playing leapfrog, birthday postcard by Agnes Richardson, Raphael Tuck & Sons, used 1922 · Public domain (published by 1922; artist died 1951, more than 70 years ago)
Agnes RichardsonIllustrator and poster artist · 1885-1951Drew round-cheeked, cheerful children for postcards, books and London Underground posters.1 card
Photograph of Arthur Rackham, photographer unknown, published in The Bookman (London), 1922 · Public domain (published 1922, before 1931)
Arthur RackhamIllustrator · 1867-1939Twisting trees, small fairies and soft watercolor washes over fine pen line.Cards coming
Photograph of Aubrey Beardsley by Frederick Hollyer, 1893 (cropped) · Public domain (photographer died 1933; photograph 1893)
Aubrey BeardsleyIllustrator · 1872-1898Black-and-white ink drawings of sharp curves, flat shapes and strange small creatures.3 cards
Nach Südamerika (To South America), poster by Bernd Steiner for Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, about 1928 · Public domain (artist died 1933, more than 70 years ago)
Bernd SteinerPoster artist, painter and stage designer · 1884-1933Austrian poster artist who designed ocean-liner posters for Norddeutscher Lloyd of Bremen.Cards coming
La belle de Chamonix, plate 37 by Charles Martin, Gazette du Bon Ton, March 1924 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston copy) · Public domain (published 1924; artist died 1934, more than 70 years ago)
Charles MartinIllustrator and designer · 1884-1934French illustrator whose crisp, lightly Cubist line filled the Gazette du Bon Ton.1 card
Portrait of Charles Meryon, etching by his friend Félix Bracquemond, 1853 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 26.28.74) · CC0 (The Met Open Access; Bracquemond died 1914)
Charles MeryonEtcher · 1821-1868A colour-blind former naval officer who became the great etcher of old Paris.1 card
Self-portrait of David Johnson, oil, undated (before 1908) · Public domain (artist died 1908; PD-old-100)
David JohnsonLandscape painter · 1827-1908A Hudson River School painter who drew single trees with great patience.1 card
Drawing by E. H. Shepard for A. A. Milne's Now We Are Six, E. P. Dutton, 1927 · Public domain in the United States (published 1927)
E. H. ShepardIllustrator · 1879-1976Light, quick pen drawings that gave A. A. Milne's toy animals their faces.72 cards
Self-portrait of E. M. Lilien at his drawing table, reproduced in Stefan Zweig, E. M. Lilien: Sein Werk (Berlin: Schuster & Loeffler, 1903) · Public domain (published 1903; artist died 1925, more than 70 years ago)
E. M. LilienIllustrator, printmaker and photographer · 1874-1925Jugendstil illustrator whose flowing black-and-white line shaped modern Jewish book art.Cards coming
Photograph of E. W. Kemble, photographer unknown, published in The Book Buyer, July 1894 · Public domain in the United States (published 1894, before 1931)
E. W. KembleIllustrator and cartoonist · 1861-1933The young cartoonist Mark Twain chose to draw the first Huckleberry Finn.2 cards
Edouard Manet, photograph by Nadar, before 1870 (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica) · Public domain (photographer Nadar died 1910; photo taken before 1870)
Edouard ManetPainter · 1832-1883The Paris painter whose scenes of modern life opened the way to Impressionism.1 card
Photograph of Edward Lear, 1866, photographer unknown (Actia Nicopolis Foundation collection, Preveza) · Public domain (anonymous photograph made public more than 150 years ago)
Edward LearArtist and nonsense poet · 1812-1888A bird painter who drew loose, funny pictures for his own nonsense verse.24 cards
Félix Bracquemond, photograph by Nadar, 1865 · Public domain (photographer Nadar died 1910; photo from 1865)
Félix BracquemondEtcher and designer · 1833-1914Etcher who led the French etching revival and brought Japanese birds to French tableware.2 cards
'In Cellar Cool', Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard signed G. E. Shepheard, early 1900s (Newberry Library, Leonard A. Lauder collection; caption strip and a sender's handwriting cropped off) · Public domain in the US (published before 1931; Newberry Library rights statement 'No Copyright - United States')
G. E. ShepheardHumorous illustrator · active c. 1900-1915 (dates unknown)Comic postcard artist who drew sporting mishaps and funny faces for Raphael Tuck.1 card
Georg Dionysius Ehret holding a flower, mezzotint by Johann Jakob Haid, about 1750 · Public domain (engraver died 1767)
Georg Dionysius EhretBotanical painter · 1708-1770A gardener's son who became the leading botanical painter of the 18th century.2 cards
L'Artiste dessinant (The artist drawing), self-portrait by George Barbier, 1928, ink, gouache and pencil, Musée d'arts de Nantes · Public domain (artist died 1932, more than 70 years ago)
George BarbierIllustrator and designer · 1882-1932Art Deco illustrator whose fashion plates set Paris couture in theatrical scenes.10 cards
'Hallowe'en', postcard signed HBG, Leubrie & Elkus, mailed in Baltimore on 30 October 1908 (Enoch Pratt Free Library, via Digital Maryland) · Public domain (published in the US in 1908; PD-US-expired)
H. B. Griggs (HBG)Postcard artist · active c. 1907-1912 (life dates unknown)Signed only 'HBG': drew hundreds of cheerful holiday postcards for a New York publisher.6 cards
Harry Furniss aged 26 (1880), photograph reproduced in his book The Confessions of a Caricaturist (Harper & Brothers, 1902) · Public domain (photograph 1880; published 1902, before 1931)
Harry FurnissIllustrator and caricaturist · 1854-1925Punch caricaturist who drew Lewis Carroll's two Sylvie and Bruno books.Cards coming
Henri-Joseph Redouté in profile, etching after a drawing by André Dutertre, made between 1798 and 1801 during the Egypt expedition (Musée Carnavalet, Paris); cropped to the roundel · CC0 (Paris Musées open content; Dutertre died 1842)
Henri-Joseph RedoutéNatural history painter · 1766-1852Pierre-Joseph's younger brother, who drew plants and animals from Paris to the Nile.5 cards
John Held Jr., photograph by Pirie MacDonald, about 1923, published in Judge, 2 June 1923 · Public domain (published in the US in 1923)
John Held Jr.Cartoonist and illustrator · 1889-1958Cartoonist whose long-legged flappers and college boys became the image of the Jazz Age.1 card
John La Farge, photograph by J. E. Purdy, published in The World's Work, 1906 · Public domain (published in the US in 1906, before 1931)
John La FargePainter and stained-glass artist · 1835-1910Painter, muralist and inventor of a new kind of American stained glass.1 card
Self-portrait, pen drawing by John Tenniel, 1889, as reproduced in M. H. Spielmann's The History of "Punch" (1895) · Public domain (artist died 1914; published 1895, before 1931)
John TennielIllustrator and political cartoonist · 1820-1914Drew the first pictures of Alice, and still the ones most readers imagine.24 cards
Photograph of Kate Greenaway by Elliott & Fry, albumen cabinet card, 1870s (National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG x15155) · Public domain (1870s photograph; the studio's partners died in 1897 and 1903)
Kate GreenawayIllustrator and writer · 1846-1901Children in high-waisted dresses and gardens in bloom, printed in soft color.2 cards
Hokusai as an old man, ink on paper, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian (F1904.282). Wikipedia describes it as a self-portrait; the museum gives no exact date. · CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access); public domain, Hokusai died in 1849
Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎Painter and printmaker · 1760-1849Painter of The Great Wave who drew everything, from Mount Fuji to ghosts.12 cards
Photograph of Kawanabe Kyosai, photographer unknown, taken before 1889 · Public domain (photograph by an unknown photographer, made before Kyosai's death in 1889)
Kawanabe Kyosai 河鍋暁斎Painter, printmaker and caricaturist · 1831-1889Wild, brilliant painter of demons, ghosts and sharp political cartoons.2 cards
Nine-tailed fox and facing page, from Poems on One Hundred Ghost Stories (Kyoka hyaku monogatari), color woodblock printed book, 1853, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (JIB27) · CC0 (Met Open Access, isPublicDomain true; Rogers Fund, 1918)
Masazumi Ryusai 竜斎正澄 (the Met writes 正澄竜斎; Japanese sources also give 竜閑斎, Ryukansai)Book illustrator · active 1850s (birth and death dates unknown)Illustrator of a cheerful 1853 picture book of ninety-six Japanese ghosts.4 cards
A spread from Kaibutsu gahon (Picture Book of Monsters), vol. 1, with the belly-drumming tanuki at left; copied by Nabeta Gyokuei after Rikan Mitsukata, 1881 (Library of Congress copy dated 1883) · Public domain / no known restrictions (Library of Congress Japanese Rare Book Collection)
Nabeta Gyokuei 鍋田玉英Print designer and book illustrator · 1847-unknownMeiji print artist who redrew an old picture book of monsters in 1881.2 cards
Dancing Fox, color woodblock print by Ohara Koson, 1900-1910s, Cleveland Museum of Art (2016.546) · CC0 (Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access)
Ohara Koson 小原古邨 (also signed 祥邨 Shoson and 豊邨 Hoson)Painter and woodblock print designer · 1877-1945Designer of gentle woodblock prints of birds, flowers and small animals.1 card
Demon Reciting Buddhist Prayers, Otsu-e hanging scroll by an unknown painter, ink and color on paper, second half of the 18th century, Minneapolis Institute of Art (99.59.10) · Public domain (Minneapolis Institute of Art, rights type Public Domain)
Otsu-e painters 大津絵 (Otsu-e)Anonymous folk painters · about 1620s to late 19th century (the tradition)Anonymous roadside painters whose quick, funny pictures travelers carried home.Cards coming
Portrait of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, oil on canvas, by Louis-Léopold Boilly, about 1800 (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille) · Public domain (painter died 1845; faithful photograph of a 2D artwork)
Pierre-Joseph RedoutéBotanical painter · 1759-1840The best-known flower painter of his age, called the Raphael of flowers.19 cards
A Great Titmouse (Parus major) Perched on a Branch, watercolour and bodycolour by Pieter Withoos, late 17th century (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.602) · CC0 (The Met Open Access, isPublicDomain true)
Pieter WithoosWatercolour painter · c. 1654-1692Dutch painter of birds, insects and flowers for collectors' albums.1 card
Rockwell Kent, photograph by an unidentified photographer, about 1920 (Smithsonian Institution) · Public domain (US: published photograph of about 1920, tagged PD-US on Wikimedia Commons)
Rockwell KentPainter, printmaker and illustrator · 1882-1971American painter and printmaker whose stark ink drawings gave Moby-Dick a new look.Cards coming
Rudyard Kipling, photograph by Elliott & Fry, London, 15 June 1895 · Public domain (photograph of 1895, published by 1907; PD-old-70-expired on Wikimedia Commons)
Rudyard KiplingWriter and illustrator · 1865-1936Nobel-winning storyteller who drew the pictures for his own Just So Stories.9 cards
God of Thunder captured by a crab (right scroll of the pair Gods of Wind and Thunder), ink and color on silk, mid-19th century, Minneapolis Institute of Art (2013.30.19.2) · Public domain (Minneapolis Institute of Art, rights type Public Domain)
Satake Eikai 佐竹永海Painter · 1803-1874Edo painter of many styles, official artist to the lords of Hikone.1 card
Draco and Ursa Minor, card 1 of Urania's Mirror (London: Samuel Leigh, 1824), hand-coloured engraving signed 'Sidy. Hall sculpt.'; Library of Congress copy, digitally restored by Adam Cuerden · Public domain (published 1824-1825)
Sidney HallEngraver and mapmaker (attributed artist of the plates) · c. 1788-1831London map engraver whose signed plates carry the star figures of Urania's Mirror.12 cards
Photograph of Sidney Paget, about 1890, photographer unknown · Public domain (photograph about 1890; tagged on Commons as author dead 70+ years and published before 1931)
Sidney PagetIllustrator · 1860-1908Gave Conan Doyle's detective his deerstalker cap, his cape and his face.Cards coming
The Bride Traveling in the Rain, from the series The Foxes' Wedding, color woodblock print, 1765, Art Institute of Chicago (gift of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Michener) · CC0 (Art Institute of Chicago, is_public_domain true)
Tachibana Minko 橘岷江Print designer and book illustrator · active c. 1764-1772 (birth and death dates unknown)Edo print designer of The Foxes' Wedding, a picture series from 1765.1 card
Nekomata, from Gazu hyakki yagyo, vol. 1 (first published 1776; this copy the 1805 reissue, Edo: Maekawa Yahei), Smithsonian Libraries · Public domain (book printed 1805; Smithsonian Libraries: no longer under copyright)
Toriyama Sekien 鳥山石燕Painter, illustrator and poet · 1712-1788The artist who gave Japan's yokai the faces they still have today.2 cards
Self-caricature by True Williams in Mark Twain's Roughing It (first published 1872; scan from an 1886 printing), identified as Williams by Michael Patrick Hearn · Public domain (artist died 1897; published before 1931)
True W. WilliamsIllustrator · 1839-1897The first artist to draw Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and their river town.5 cards
Self-portrait with a mask, oil painting by Umberto Brunelleschi, 1920 (cropped to the painting; photograph by Sailko) · Painting: public domain (artist died 1949, more than 70 years ago). Photograph: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, so credit 'Photo: Sailko / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0'
Umberto BrunelleschiIllustrator and costume designer · 1879-1949Italian artist in Paris who drew masks, harlequins, fashion plates and stage costumes.1 card
Memorial portrait of Hiroshige, color woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), 1858, San Diego Museum of Art (1957.384) · Public domain (print published 1858; Kunisada died 1865); museum image released on Flickr, marked public domain on Commons
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (also 安藤広重, Ando Hiroshige)Printmaker and painter · 1797-1858Printmaker of rain, snow, mist and moonlight in the landscapes of old Japan.12 cards
Vanessa Bell (then Vanessa Stephen), photograph by George Charles Beresford, 1902 · Public domain (photograph of 1902; photographer died 1938, more than 70 years ago)
Vanessa BellPainter and designer · 1879-1961Bloomsbury painter who made woodcuts and covers for her sister Virginia Woolf's books.Cards coming

Also on our cards

Contemporary artists

Living illustrators who draw new designs for Picturepops will join this pool with their own pages, next to the artists of the past.