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Arthur Rackham: Art for Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends

 

 

Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) is one of the great artists associated with the Golden Age of Illustration.

 

The Arthur Rackham Collection at Spirit of the Ages includes art images from some of Rackham's seminal work illustrating fairy tales, myths and legends. As a valuable reference resource, options are also provided for purchasing a range of gifts, including reproductions of illustrations by Rackham on prints, posters and cards.

 

Arthur Rackham (vintage photograph)

Rackham's capacity to artistically interpret and represent the lore of fairy tales, myths, fables and legend was prodigious. The artwork of Arthur Rackham continues to captivate lovers of art, illustration and fairy tales. In his early career, Rackham had gained considerable critical success as noted in the comments of Baldry in 'Arthur Rackham: A Painter of Fantasies' in "The Studio" of April 1905. Later, but still in his own lifetime, Briggs Latimore and Clark Haskel ("Arthur Rackham: A Biography", Suttonhouse, Los Angeles, (1936), provided the following comments on his skills:

 

"In imagination, draftsmanship and colour-blending, his work stands alone. His deep

understanding of the spirit of myth, fable, and folklore affords him a transcendent range

of expression."

 

 

 

 

 

  To the left, we show a vintage photograph of Arthur Rackham.

 

Illustrations by Arthur Rackham for fairy tales, myths and legends are characterised by a sinuous pen line softened with muted watercolour - a feature that is typical of the

Art Nouveau aesthete. His forests are looming with frightening grasping roots, fair maidens  depicted by Rackham are sensuous - yet somehow chaste - and his ogres and trolls

ugly enough to repulse, but with sufficient good nature not to frighten.

 

Fairy tales, myths and legends to benefit from Rackham's artistic interpretation included works by authors including: Barrie; Barham; Carroll; Shakespeare; the Brothers Grimm;

de la Motte Fouqué; Wagner; Aesop; Dickens; Malory; Stephens; Milton; Hawthorne; Irving; Moore; Poe; and Ibsen.

 

Hudson ("Arthur Rackham: His Life and Work", Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1960) called Rackham "the leading decorative illustrator of the Edwardian period" and nearly

a century after his first illustrations were published, Hamilton ("Arthur Rackham: A Life with Illustration", Pavilion Books Ltd, London, 1990) provided the following comment on

his skills:

 

"Rackham's illustrations to Grimm, Hans Andersen or Poe show him at his most imaginative and observant

of human nature, while his gnomes, fairies and gnarled anthropomorphic trees in "Peter Pan in Kensington

Gardens" or "A Midsummer Night's Dream" represent his more fantastic side.... He was - and remains - a

soloist in front of an orchestra, a player with the responsibility to interpret and add a personal lustre to great

works with variations of infinite subtlety and grace."

 

We invite you to take the time to peruse the wonderful artwork from Arthur Rackham that is included in the Collection - to view images from any one the suites prepared by

Rackham or individual illustrations listed below, simply 'click' on the hyperlinks embedded within the titles and the images. By following the hyperlinks, you will also find further information about Arthur Rackham, his illustrations depicting scenes from fairy tales, myths and legends and options for purchasing Fine Art Posters and Greeting Cards.

 

  

 

Suites of published illustrations from Arthur Rackham depicting fairy tales, myths and legends

Arthur Rackham

"Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens"

73 images

Arthur Rackham

"The Ingoldsby Legends"

24 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

13 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"A Midsummer-Night's Dream"

40 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"The Fairy Tales of the

Brothers Grimm"

40 colour images

Arthur Rackham's 'The fairies have their tiffs with the birds' from the 1906 Edition of ''Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens'' Arthur Rackham's 'The horn ... Was blown with a load twenty-trumpeter power' from the 1907 Edition of ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' Arthur Rackham's 'Advice from a Caterpillar' from the 1907 Edition of ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' Arthur Rackham's '... Fairies, away! We shall chide downright, if I longer stay' from the 1908 Edition of Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer-Night's Dream'' Arthur Rackham's 'The King's only daughter had been carried off by a Dragon' from the 1909 Edition of ''The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm''

Arthur Rackham

"Undine"

15 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"The Rhinegold and The Valkyrie"

34 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"Siegfried and The Twilight

of  the Gods"

30 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"Aesop's Fables"

13 colour images

Arthur Rackham

 "Mother Goose: The Old

Nursery Rhymes"

13 colour images

Arthur Rackham's 'Soon she was lost to sight in the Danube' from the 1909 Edition of ''Undine'' Arthur Rackham's 'The Rhine's fair children, Bewailing their lost gold, weep' from the 1910 Edition of ''The Rhinegold and The Valkyrie'' Arthur Rackham's 'Siegfried! Siegfried! Our warning is true - Flee, oh, flee from the curse!' from the 1911 Edition of ''Siegfried and The Twilight of the Gods'' Arthur Rackham's 'The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea' from the 1912 Edition of ''Aesop's Fables'' Arthur Rackham's 'Hey! diddle, diddle ...' from the 1913 Edition of ''Mother Goose - The Old Nursery Rhymes''

Arthur Rackham

"A Christmas Carol"

12 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"The Allies' Fairy Book"

12 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"The Romance of King Arthur and

His Knights of the Round Table"

16 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"English Fairy Tales"

16 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"The Springtide of Life"

9 colour images

Arthur Rackham's '... Old Scratch has got his own at last, hey?' from the 1915 Edition of ''A Christmas Carol'' An Arthur Rackham illustration from ''The Allies' Fairy Book'' (1916) Arthur Rackham's 'How at the Castle of Corbin a maiden bare in the Sangreal and foretold the achievements of Galahad' from the 1917 Edition of ''The Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table'' Arthur Rackham's 'Catskin' from the 1918 Edition of ''English Fairy Tales'' Arthur Rackham's 'Summer's rose-garlanded train' from the 1918 Edition of ''The Springtide of Life''

Arthur Rackham

"Some British Ballads"

16 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"Irish Fairy Tales"

16 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"Comus"

24 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"Hawthorne's Wonder Book"

16 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"The Tempest"

21 colour images

Arthur Rackham's 'Clerk Colvill' from the 1919 Edition of ''Some British Ballads'' Arthur Rackham's 'The waves of all the worlds seemed to whirl past them in one huge green cataract' from the 1920 Edition of ''Irish Fairy Tales'' Arthur Rackham's 'The huntress Dian' from the 1921 Edition of ''Comus'' Arthur Rackham's 'It seemed as if a sudden swarm of winged creatures brushed past her' from the 1922 Edition of ''Hawthorne's Wonder Book'' Arthur Rackham's 'Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments, Will hum about mine ears' from the 1926 Edition of Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''

Arthur Rackham

"The Legendy of Sleepy Hollow"

8 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"The Night Before Christmas"

4 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination"

12 colour images

Arthur Rackham

"Peer Gynt"

12 colour images

 
Arthur Rackham illustration for ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' Arthur Rackham's 'He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work ...' from the 1931 Edition of ''The Night Before Christmas'' Arthur Rackham's colour illustration for 'Metzengerstein' from the 1935 Edition of ''Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination'' Arthur Rackham's 'Peer before the King of the Trolls' from the 1936 Edition of ''Peer Gynt''  
 

 

 

 

Paintings by Arthur Rackham depicting fairy tales, myths and legends

 

Arthur Rackham

''The Sea Battle''

1 image

Arthur Rackham

''The Twelfth Labor of Hercules''

1 image

Arthur Rackham

''Of King Arthur's Marriage''

1 image

Arthur Rackham

''Of Sir Tristram of Lyonesse

and La Belle Ysolde''

1 image

Arthur Rackham

''Of Sir Galahad and how he achieved the Quest of the Holy Grail''

1 image

Arthur Rackham's 'The Sea Battle' for 'Stories from the Edda' Arthur Rackham's ''The Twelfth Labor of Hercules'' Arthur Rackham's 'King Arthur had hardly spoken, before a white hart ran into the hall' for ''Of King Arthur's Marriage'' Arthur Rackham's 'Tristram smiting him clean off his horse' for ''Sir Tristram of Lyones and La Belle Ysolde'' Arthur Rackham's ''Of Sir Galahad and how he achieved the Quest for the Holy Grail''

Arthur Rackham

''All through Egypt every man

burns a lamp''

1 image

Arthur Rackham

''Snowdrop''

1 image

Arthur Rackham

''A Midsummer-Night's Dream

(Act IV, Scene I)''

1 image

Arthur Rackham

''How Galahad drew out the

sword from the floating stone

at Camelot''

1 image

Arthur Rackham

''How Launcelot was shot by a

gentlewoman hunting''

1 image

Arthur Rackham's ''All through Egypt every man burns a lamp'' Arthur Rackham's 'When they came home at evening they found Snowdrop lying on the ground' for ''Snowdrop'' An advanced preparatory illustration by Arthur Rackham for Act IV, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer-Night's Dream'' Arthur Rackham's ''How Galahad drew out the sword from the floating stone at Camelot'' for ''The Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table'' Arthur Rackham's ''How Launcelot was shot be a gentlewoman hunting'' for ''The Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table''

Arthur Rackham

"In a forked glen into which he

slipped at night-fall he was

surrounded by giant toads"

1 image

Arthur Rackham

"Saint Nicholas"

1 image

Arthur Rackham

"The Fish King and the Dog Fish"

1 image

Arthur Rackham

"Allington Pippin"

1 image

 
Arthur Rackham's ''In a forked glen into which he slipped at night-fall he was surrounded by giant toads'' for 'Becuma of the White Skin' in ''Irish Fairy Tales'' Arthur Rackham's ''Saint Nicholas'' Arthur Rackham's ''The Fish King and the Dog Fish'' for the tale 'Adventures in Wizardland' published in ''Little Folks'' magazine  
 

 

 

Purchasing our Posters and Cards showcasing the art of Arthur Rackham for fairy tales, myths and legends

 

When presented on Cards - including Greeting and Note Card - these images are prepared as tipped-on plates - in 'hommage' to the hand-crafted approach typical of prestige

illustrated publications produced in the early decades of the 20th Century. Each card is hand-finished and the images are presented on Ivory card stock (in the case of colour

illustrations) or White card stock (in the case of monotone images) with an accompanying envelope.

 

Each of our Fine Art Posters is prepared with archival quality papers and inks.

 

Should you wish to order posters or cards, we have provided options throughout the site. To purchase, simply click on the appropriate "Add to Cart" button and you will be taken

through to our Shopping Cart secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any destination in the world are

accommodated by our flat-rate fee of US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.

 

Of course, should you wish to discuss some customised options, we welcome your contact on any matter through email by ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.

 

In the meantime, enjoy perusing these wonderful images from Arthur Rackham.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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