**The information I sought was received 23 April 2012 - see post Success! An answer to my inquiry.
I have always loved the work of this artist but have not been able to identify the person behind these beautiful illustrations. I'm hoping that if someone comes across this post and is familiar with these paintings, they will leave me a comment and help me shed some light on the artist who painted these enchanting scenes. It would be wonderful to have a name to associate with this work. I have included illustrations from these stories before in two previous posts - Wonderful Weddings and Perfect Princesses. My enduring passion for fairytale illustrations can largely be traced back to a magazine publication called 'Once Upon a Time' that appeared weekly from 1969 to 1973. (I have referred to this magazine on a number of occasions in previous posts.) It was printed and published in England but (as was common at the time) was available throughout the Commonwealth. This meant I was able to collect these magazines as a child in South Africa and many I've seen for sale recently on eBay can be found in Australia.
The quality of the issues and the wealth of artwork they contain is simply astounding. Many illustrators that we now consider giants of the era contributed on a regular basis. I have included a number of these artists in previous posts and still have more to feature.
Artists already showcased are:
And the giant amongst giants, Ron Embleton, whose work I have been extremely privileged to collect on a small scale and who has featured fairly prolifically before in my blog.
The artist featured today is part of this group, but to date I have not been able to trace anything from this work. Nothing appears to be signed. This is not unusual (none of the Ron Embleton boards I have bought are signed although some that were used as covers might have the initials RE in a bottom corner - this automatically puts them outside my price range!) The practice at the time was also not to include any credits inside the publication or acknowledge the contributing artists. Today I think a lot more recognition is automatically given when anything is published.
I may be wrong but I suspect this artist is probably a man. I do get the impression of a sort of 'boys club' and I think these illustrators had a good sense of camaraderie and knew each other well.
The first three illustrations included at the beginning of this post are from a story called 'The Magic Emerald'. Below are others from a number of different stories. From the style of the work I'm assuming they are by the same person as they all have the same delicate touch.
'The Magic Horn'
Wizzie the Wizard'
'The Magic Mirror'
'Prince Adrian's Birthday'
'Bola the Magician'
'Prince Simon's Long Nose'
'The Statue and the Pigeons'
Earlier today I received a lovely surprise. I am the winner in giveaway from Donna's Designs . Last week Donna included a commemorative post about the Titanic. Her giveaway is a CD called 'Music Aboard the Titanic' - I am thrilled to have won it and can't wait for it to arrive. The Titanic was carrying many immigrant passengers from Ireland so the 100 year anniversary of its sinking has been a very poignant event here. Donna's blog is beautiful - please pop in to visit (you won't be disappointed.) Thank you Donna - you have made my day!
