Drawing on Childhood, The Foundling Museum 40 Brunswick Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1, until 1st May 2016
Angela Barrett,
Snow White’s Mother, 1991
©Angela Barrett
This is an exploration of characters from literature who were either found, orphaned, adopted or fostered and how they were artistically portrayed by illustrators and artists such as Thomas Rowlandson, George Cruikshank, Arthur Rackham, David Hockney and Quentin Blake.
Illustration by Jim Kay for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J K Rowling
© Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2015
Henry Fielding’s 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling has been selected to be the subject of new illustrations by three contemporary artists – Chris Haughton, Pablo Bronstein and Posy Simmonds.
David Hockney,
Rapunzel Growing in the Garden from Illustrations for Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm, 1969
© David Hockney
The show is eloquently summed up by its curator Stephanie Chapman: “Illustrators over the past 250 years have been inspired by a rich variety of characters in fiction and folklore who have experienced an alternative childhood. A good illustrator enhances our understanding and enjoyment of the story, and the selected works in this exhibition show how talented artists across the centuries have brought to life the childhood experiences – as well as their later repercussions – of some of our best-loved fictional characters.”
Stref, from JM Barries Peter Pan The Graphic Novel, 2015,
published by BC Books
foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1, until 17th April 2016
A drawing of Alice from Lewis Carroll’s manuscript of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, written between 1862-64
(c) The British Library Board
The enduring appeal to successive generations of Lewis Carroll’s tale with its illustrations by John Tenniel is without doubt. This show looks at how it has been an inspiration to many others over the last one hundred and fifty years whether they be artists, illustrators, musicians, designers or filmmakers.
An illustration of the Cheshire Cat by Helen Oxenbury from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
(c) 1999 Helen Oxenbury, reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd
As the show’s curator Helen Melody says: “Ever since its conception, the story of Alice has been analysed, appropriated, reimagined and re-illustrated, and yet despite undergoing so much change it remains remarkably true to Carroll’s original story. This exhibition, which is part of national and international celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice, highlights the enduring place of this iconic text in British culture and we hope that visitors to Alice in Wonderland will find new enjoyment and inspiration from the collections on show.”
The Wonderland postage stamp case designed by Lewis Carroll (1889-1890)
(c) The British Library Board
Tim Forrest's E & A 