Kate Greenaway

Kate Greenaway (1846-1901), English watercolourist and illustrator, born in London, and trained at the Slade School of Art. From 1868 she exhibited drawings, designed greetings cards and contributed illustrations to books and magazines, notably the Illustrated London News. Her father, John Greenaway, the draughtsman and wood engraver, introduced her to the printer Edmund Evans, who used his own process of wood-block printing in colour for her book Under the Window (1878), for which she drew the illustrations and wrote the rhymes. In it she depicted the nostagically clad, wistful children in idealized flowery surroundings that characterized her distinctive style. Her unique blend of Pre-Raphaelite detail, bold design, and delicate colouring established her as an influential artist of the Aesthetic movement, delighting her own and subsequent generations.

Her later books include Marigold Garden, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, The Book of Games, The Birthday Book, The April Baby's Book of Tunes, and many others. Her designs appeared on china, tiles, wallpaper and ephemera, and were much imitated. Her revival of the highwaisted style of the early 19th century influenced the design of children's clothes in her day.