Fun Facts Friday: Arthur Rackham

Man of la BookSeptember 19, 2025Post a Comment

Arthur Rackham (19 September, 1867 – 6 September, 1939) was a principal illustrator from England, during the Golden Age of British book illustrations. He is known for his pen and ink drawing combined with watercolor.

Books illustrated by Arthur Rackham*

Fun Facts about Arthur Rackham:

Arthur Rackham was born in London, he had 11 siblings.
Suffering from ill health, he traveled to Australia at age 17 with two aunts hoping to improve but was back in England the next year.
He started working as an insurance clerk, while taking evening classes at the Lambeth School of Art (currently called the City and Guilds of London Art School).
When Arthur Rackham was around 25 years old, he started working as a reporter and illustrator for the Westminster Budget.
By 1893, Mrr. Rackham has illustrated Thomas Rhodes’ To the Other Side, and got his first commission in 1894 for The Dolly Dialogues.
From then on, Arthur Rackham’s illustration career took off.
His reputation grew and he was known as a fantasy illustrator. Some of his most famous works graced Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, as well as the Brothers Grimm books and children’s magazines.
Arthur Rackham’s colored illustrations to Washington Irving‘s Rip Van Winkle are a milestone in book publishing since it featured an accurate representation of his color artwork by using color separated printing.
Edyth Starke, an Irish portrait artist, and Arthur Rackham married in 1904. The couple had one daughter, Barbara. Edyth supported his style of art despite him thinking that he’ll be mocked for it by other members of the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS).
Edyth was also the mischievous of the pair and did her best to alarm her formal and precise English husband.
His dreamlike and haunting style was favorite among audiences and he is considered, to this day, a leading illustrator from that time.