Edward Ardizzone
This essay is a critical analysis of Edward Ardizzone who was quintessentially an English writer, artist and illustrator. The main focus of this essay is to explore Ardizzones’ personal practice and investigate his influences, ideas and methods. His life will also be explored in detail and his link with the creative industry. I chose this illustrator as I admire his versatile style and quirky children’s books, many of which he wrote and illustrated himself. His own children motivated some of his later children’s books. Ardizzone is considered to have been one of the most influential illustrators of the 1900s and has been awarded the Kate Greenaway medal.
Ardizzone was born in what was then, Tonkin, the north of French indo-China in October 1900. [1] His early life was quite stable although in 1905 his mother, who was English, returned to England and took him and two of his siblings with her. The three were brought up in Suffolk, England. Their grandmother mainly brought them up while their mother returned to join her husband, who was of Italian decent, on Foreign Service. [2] Some of Ardizzones’ childhood days were spent exploring the docks at Ipswich. This could have been his earliest inspiration for some of his later work. As his perhaps most well known works, the Tim series, features a little boy who has many maritime adventures and a keen interest in becoming a sailor.
The first school Ardizzone went to was Ipswich school and then in 1913 he attended Clayesmore School. In his youth it is recorded that he could come across as unhappy and unconfident possibly because of, or at least not helped by, the regular absence of his parents. [3] He got on at his school though and when he left in 1918, he went on to work briefly as a clerk in 1919. He also attended evening classes at the Westminster School of art, which was actually his only formal training as an artist. Whilst there, he studied under Walter Bayes and Bernard Meninsky, who were both brilliant artists. [4] Bernard Meninsky was a draughtsman and a very motivated and natural teacher. Both were fantastic at imparting their knowledge and instilling enthusiasm in their pupils. It was here that Ardizzone received very worthwhile artistic tutoring.
Ardizzone would draw all the time whether in pencil in his sketchbook or on scrap bits of paper whenever he could. He did a lot of paintings of everyday life at first and then used watercolours and ink for his children’s books. He was quite a versatile illustrator yet mainly focused on drawings using watercolour, pen and ink in his preferred style.
By 1920 Ardizzones’ father bought a house in Maida Vale, West London. Ardizzone really came into his own whilst here and the pubs of Maida Vale became the setting for something he and his childhood friend, Maurice Gorham, became rather well known for. [5] Edward Ardizzone and Maurice Gorham often went to the local pubs. Ardizzone found a lot of inspiration from these pubs and would sketch the locals. The Local, a book that the pair went on to create, takes us through the pubs of London before the Second World War. Text by Maurice Gorham and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone. The pair captured the atmosphere of the pubs and Dan Carrier, in his article for the Islington Tribune, wrote:
Ardizzone and Gorham caught the pubs at a time of flux, and in the midst of a trend that is recognisable today. Pubs had gone through the styles of the Victorian gin palace, and interior designs had reflected a sense of modernism in the 1920s. By the 1930s, many pubs had their Victorian interiors ripped out and replaced by an “olde worlde” style with mock Elizabethan panelling, seemingly harking back to an age of village inns on horse drawn coach routes.
(Carrier 2007, Islington Tribune, Online).
This quote about The Local explains how the interior of pubs has changed over time and how Ardizzone and Gorham captured the atmosphere of the pubs so well when they did. The Local was very successful early on. Yet unfortunately paper had to be rationed because of the war and descriptions of local pub life were not one of their publishers’ priorities. Also a blitz bomb hit one of their offices, which set them back a lot as it destroyed all the original litho plates and back stock. The book was re-issued even though it had been out of print since 1939. [6] In 1949 a new edition was produced with renewed text and even some completely new illustrations - called, Back to The Local. The Local has a kind of cultural historical significance as, to this day, it is an insight into the pubs of London in early 1900s. Not only is it an insight into the style and interior of the pubs but also the types of people and atmosphere of the pubs back then.
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| Book Cover, The Local, Maurice Gorham and Edward Ardizzone 1939, http://littletoller.co.uk/?wpsc-product=the-local |
It was in around 1927 that Edward Ardizzone gave up his other work to become a full time artist and it was not inline with his fathers’ wishes. [7] Any of his creative family background would have come from his mother, who had been a watercolour painter and had studied in Paris. [8] One of Ardizzones early influences was Constantin Guys, who was a Dutch watercolour painter and illustrator for British and French newspapers in the 1800s. [9] I feel that the images below show some interesting similarities and differences between their styles. It is clear which aspects of Constantines style that Ardizzone particularly liked, such as the freedom of the lines that make up the figures. A charm that runs through both artists work is that the feel of their work is not intended to be of meticulously planned out marks and details. Instead having an appearance of having been drawn quickly and effortlessly that, in fact, is a style that can only be achieved through determination and practice.
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| Carriages and Three Gentlemen on Horses Constantin Guys Unable to obtain date |
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| Self Portrait Edward Ardizzone, 1952 Tate Gallery Archive, |
The differences lie in the media used and Constantins’ work would tend to be made up of more stylistic lines. It can be argued that Constantins’ work had a more ‘fine art’ feel about it as it is more influenced by 19th Century paintings. Despite this foreign influence and the fact that Ardizzone went on to travel quite a lot, such as travelling to Austria and Italy with his sister Betty, there tends to be little to no foreign themes running through his work. He was mainly influenced by scenes of London and the docks near where he grew up. [10]
The first book Ardizzone ever illustrated was in 1929. It was In a Glass Darkly, which is a collection of five short stories by Sheridan Le Fanu originally published in 1872. [11] Ardizzone illustrated Faber Finds publishers’ edition of the book in 1929. It is agreed that his illustrations for the book were a good start to his career. [12] Despite this, it was a long time before he was commissioned for another book. Ardizzones’ childhood friend, Maurice Gorham, was the art editor at the Radio Times and was Ardizzones’ gateway to his long association with the magazine. [13] Ardizzone remained motivated and held a one-man exhibition at the Bloomsbury gallery and then went on to hold many other exhibitions. [14]
Ardizzone got married in early 1929 to Catherine Anderson and they had their first child, Christianna, soon after. It was in 1931 that their second child, Philip, was born. [15] It turned out that Ardizzone was good at coming up with bedtime stories for them. [16] As he told the stories the children would add to them. They motivated Ardizzone to write down and illustrate particular stories for each of them. This was the beginning of what became a series of popular children’s books by Ardizzone. It was in 1936 that the first publication of the Little Tim books came about. It was Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain, which is about a little boy who runs away to sea. [17]
Edward Ardizzone’s brother, David, rented a house in around 1930. It was a house at Kingsdown, near Deal. Edward Ardizzone would visit and the house was near a shingly beach, where lots of shipping was always taking place. This became the inspiration for Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain. That very house became Tim’s parents house in the Little Tim series. [18]
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| Page from Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain book Edward Ardizzone 1936 |
His next two books were Lucy Brown and Mr Grimes, which got published in 1937 and Tim and Lucy go to sea, published in 1938. Lucy Brown and Mr Grimes is a story about an old man who is lonely and ugly. Then in a park he becomes friends with a little girl. [19] Mr. Grimes was originally a stranger but this was considered so shocking and unacceptable in America, that in the revised addition, Ardizzone changed Mr. Grimes to an old family friend. [20] It can be argued that this story’s subject matter is inappropriate for young children because it would perhaps encourage them to talk to strangers. I personally feel that it conveys a good message to not judge people from the outside and that being polite is a desirable trait. Yet on the other hand, I do agree that it is perhaps encouraging children’s curiosity a little too much and giving the impression that everyone is kind. I feel children should enjoy the book though.
The story of Tim and Lucy go to Sea is that Lucy meets Tim and Tim tells her he is a sailor. The children wish to go on a maritime endeavour and Mr. Grimes encourages them. Yet on asking Mrs Smawley, she does not think it is a good idea at all. [21] This story is sure to ignite a child’s sense of adventure. Mr. Grimes is portrayed as a lenient and kind man yet the adult whom cares for the safety of the children and does not agree with the idea is almost seen as bitter. Mrs Smawleys prohibiting of the idea would make them wish to do it even more as it would be rebellious and mischievous. I like how the stories interlink and the same characters appear in different books. Children who read many of the books would start to get to know the characters and this would just add to
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| Lucy Brown and Mr Grimes book cover Edward Ardizzone 1937 |
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| Page from Tim and Lucy go to Sea Edward Ardizzone 1938 |
The style of Ardizzones’ drawings appears to have remained quite constant throughout his life, yet the media he used is what seemed to change depending on his target audience. For example his illustrations in The Local where done using harsher tones and thicker softer media, such as pencils and charcoals to show groggier, darker situations. Yet his children’s book illustrations are pretty much limited to pen and ink, perhaps to give off a light, pristine and innocent appearance.
For awhile Ardizzone was simply writing and illustrating his books and exhibiting a lot of his work at places such as, The Leger Gallery and The Nicholson Gallery. In September of 1939 there was the birth of his second son Nicholas. [22] I think that his target audience, even for his children’s books, was actually intended to be for both adults and children. This is because Ardizzone often said that he wrote and illustrated books so as not to write or draw down to children, which he avoided by writing them to amuse the childish part of himself. This, I feel, is how children’s books should be and that way they are not patronising and this idea stops authors avoiding real issues in children’s books. This would also make the books enjoyable to adults, which I feel is a good thing. In October 1940 an opportunity for Ardizzone to experience something different and work with much more serious subject matter arose. He was appointed official war artist as insisted by Sir Kenneth Clark. [23]
In 1940 Ardizzone was made official War Artist and during the war he found himself in France, Italy and Germany. His job was to paint watercolour pictures for the War Office, sending batches of them to London whenever he found the opportunity to set up his drawing board and turn his pencil jottings and rough sketches into pictures, thus creating an impressive one-man's view of a crucial part of the second world war.
(Tomaszewski, no date given, www.stellabooks.com)
Ardizzones’ time as a war artist must have been very rewarding. It is historically significant as it is an artist’s view of the war. It gave outsiders an insight into the war and is still relevant today. For those experiencing the effects of the war, it must have been intriguing to get an insight into what happened on the other side. He did a lot of travelling and a huge amount of drawings and paintings as a war artist. He was never far from the scenes. He was back to London in the early stages of the Blitz too. Whether it was quiet, calm and still, soldiers training or action packed warfare he recorded it all in his sketchbooks. At one point he was even arrested by the home guard for sketching the East end of London, as they thought he was a spy! In 1941 Baggage to the Enemy was published which is Ardizzones’ recorded war experience with the British Expeditionary Force in France up until the fall of Dunkirk. It was in 1945 that he relinquished commission and was discharged from the Army. [24]
After the war Ardizzone had widened his subject matter and had done wonders for his reputation. From this he became very sought after and was getting a lot of commissions. Ardizzone achieved many things, from painting a large altarpiece for a church to spending a year in India for UNESCO teaching the art of silk screen printing and other stencil processes. Then in 1953, Ardizzone returned to London and he was commissioned to produce a watercolour of the Queen’s coronation. He was also commissioned by the Press Gallery to produce a portrait of Sir Winston Churchill. This portrait was to be presented to Sir Winston Churchill on his retirement. In 1959 Sir Colin Anderson commissioned Ardizzone, to paint murals in the first class children's nursery on the ocean liner P&O Canberra. [25] This was a busy time for Ardizzone, as he had definitely achieved his goal and had become an established artist.
Ardizzone has quite a unique style and this is what made him so successful. Interestingly, as Rebecca Martin points out in Edward Ardizzone revisited: Lucy Brown and the Moral Editing of Art, Ardizzone gets compared to George Cruikshank.
Critics have compared Ardizzone, in spite of his distinct style, to nineteenth-century British artists such as George Cruikshank, who illustrated the first British edition of Grimm’s fairytales. (Martin, 2000, Edward Ardizzone revisited: Lucy Brown and the Moral Editing of Art. P.244)
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| Bombed Out Edward Ardizzone 1941 Imperial war Museums |
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| Peace and Plenty of Good News for John Bull!!! George Cruikshank 1814 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
When looking at both of their works, I do not see many similarities. It could perhaps be argued that the way they both structured the human figure and conveyed emotions is similar. It can be argued that Ardizzones’ style is much softer and has the appearance of having been done quickly and effortlessly. George Cruikshank’s work is much more solid and maybe less appealing to young children.
As well as writing and illustrating his own books and carrying out lots of commissioned work, Ardizzone also collaborated with many other respected children's authors. These included Graham Greene, Eleanor Farjeon, Mary Lewis and James Reeves who wrote The Blackbird in the Lilac, published in 1952. Mary Lewis was Ardizzones’ cousin and she wrote the 'Nurse Matilda' books under a different name. Ardizzone still did not limit his work to children’s books though. He kept an open mind and his subject matter varied by also illustrating many works of literature, including works by Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, Henry Cecil and many more. [26]
There were many more books that Ardizzone wrote and illustrated. He did many different things but his main interest of work was children’s books. Some of them were heroic stories, where the young character(s)would save the day. In 1948 Nicholas and the Fast Moving Diesel and Paul the Hero of the Fire were published. Then in 1949, Tim to the Rescue was also published. Ardizzone carried on exhibiting his work and achieved many great things. He was elected fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists. [27]
One of the authors Ardizzone collaborated with, Eleanor Farjeon, wrote The Little Bookroom. Ardizzone illustrated the book and it was awarded the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association and also the Hans Christian Andersen medal of the International Board on Books for Young People. [28] Also another great achievement for Ardizzone himself was that the 1956 publication of Tim All Alone was the first book to win the Kate Greenaway Award. [29] This was a new award set up to congratulate the most distinguished illustrated book each year and it is still going today.
In 1966 Ardizzone bought a cottage in Kent, Rodmersham Green. This was the village where his parents used to live. Ardizzone and his family settled there and he and his daughter in law, Aingelda Ardizzone, wrote and illustrated The Little Girl and the Tiny Doll. In 1972 Tim’s last Voyage was published, yet it was not actually quite the final Tim book. It was the 1977 Publication of Ship's Cook Ginger that was actually to be the final Little Tim book. Ardizzone eventually gave up commissioned work to focus more on his painting. [30]
Edward Ardizzones’ last major work was illustrating A Child’s Christmas in Wales, which is a children’s book by Dylan Thomas. His last illustrated book was Ardizzones English Fairy Tales, a selection of fairy tales from the collection of Joseph Jacobs, selected and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone. [31] On the 8th November 1979, Edward Ardizzone died of a heart attack at his home in Rodmersham Green. [32] He’s considered to have been one of the best and most inspiring illustrators of the 1900s and definitely dedicated his life to what he loved doing. Edward Ardizzone inspires me, not just for the type of work he’s done but also for how passionate and driven he was. He certainly had a thirst for new opportunities and had an open mind, always searching for new opportunities and subject matter.
Bibliography and further reading:
An artist and his school (no date) Available at: http://www.ocsociety.co.uk/system/documents/34/original/Ardizzone_-_an_artist_and_his_school.pdf?1265663421 (Accessed 3rd Dec 2012)
Ardizzone, E (1937) Lucy Brown and Mr Grimes
Ardizzone, E (1938) Tim and Lucy go to Sea
Carrier, D (2011) Books: Review – The Local Available at: http://www.islingtontribune.com/reviews/books/2011/apr/books-review-local-edward-ardizzone-and-maurice-gorham (Accessed 3rd Dec 2012)
Clemence, C (no date) Edward Ardizzone R.A Available at: http://www.edwardardizzone.org.uk/biography/ (Accessed 1st Dec 2012)
Faber Finds (no date) In a Glass Darkly J. Sheridan Le Fanu, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone Available at: http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/in-a-glass-darkly/9780571255832 (Accessed 3rd Dec 2012)
Little Toller Books (no date) Edward Ardizzone Available at: http://littletoller.co.uk/authors/edward-adizzone/ (Accessed 26th Nov 2012)
Martin, R (2000) Edward Ardizzone revisited: Lucy Brown and the Moral Editing of Art, p.244 Available at http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=120&sid=04bc08cb-3de4-4c04-8148-361165938054%40sessionmgr115 (Accessed 3rd Dec 2012)
Tomaszewski, C (no date) Edward Ardizzone Available at: http://www.stellabooks.com/articles/ardizzone.php (Accessed 3rd Dec 2012)
White, G (1973) Edward Ardizzone R.A Available at: http://www.edwardardizzone.org.uk/gabriel-white/ (Accessed 29th Nov 2012)
Wikipedia (2012) Edward Ardizzone Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Ardizzone (Accessed 22nd Nov 2012)
Endnotes:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Ardizzone - Early Life (2012)
[2] [4] [7] [11] [14] [15] [22] [23] [27] [28] [29] [30] & [31] http://www.edwardardizzone.org.uk/biography/ - (2008)
[8] [9] [10] [18] & [24] http://www.edwardardizzone.org.uk/gabriel-white/
[16] [17] [20] [25] [26] & [32] http://www.stellabooks.com/articles/ardizzone.php
[19] Lucy Brown and Mr Grimes - Edward Ardizzone
[21] Tim and Lucy go to Sea - Edward Ardizzone
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