Arthur Rackham began his career as a prolific English illustrator at the end of the 19th century. He was one of 12 children. At 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying at the Lambeth School of Art, where he studied for seven years. In 1892 he quit his clerk job and started working for The Westminster Budget as a reporter and illustrator. His first book illustration was published in 1893.

Arthur Rackham married Edyth Starkie in 1903. They had one child, a daughter, Barbara, in 1908.

Rackham was made a full member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour in 1908. He also won a gold medal at the Milan International Exhibition in 1906 and another one at the Barcelona International Exposition in 1911. His works appeared in numerous exhibitions, including one at the Louvre in Paris in 1914. He studied drawing at evening classes at Lambeth School of Art (1884) for 7 years, at the same time that he was working full-time in insurance. He bagan as an illustrator of children's books, using the then new half-tone process. He first became known for his illustration to Grimm's Fairy Tales. In 1905, He made his American debut with his illustrations to Rip van Winkle and in 1906, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens was published. His final book was The Wind In the Willows was published in 1940, a year after his death at home in Limpsfield, Surrey in 1939.

Rackham Art Images at Art Passions

Recent Additions and Changes

Newest additions: Complete illustrations to Feats on the Fjord. Updated images to Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens with nicer scans.

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Where to Buy Arthur Rackham Prints: You can find Rackham art prints at Artsy Craftsy, at the Rackham Print and Poster Gallery, or use the Art Print and Poster Finder

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About Art Passions: Art Passions began a tribute to artists whose work I grew up, and whose work has meaning for me personally. The list of artists on artpassions.net, including recent additions to the site, as well as other information are available on the home page.

Arthur Rackham Illustrations

Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to Alice in Wonderland.
Rackham - Alice in Wonderland Alice in Wonderland - online book with Rackham images
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (with some interesting fairy marginalia).
Rackham - Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to Gulliver's Travels.
Rackham - Gulliver's Travels (online book also)
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle.
Rackham - Rip Van Winkle
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to Wagner's The Ring of Nibelung.
Rackham - The Ring
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to John Ruskin's King of the Golden River.
King of the Golden River	The Old Gentleman Reclined on a Globe	Gave the Child a Bottle So there they lay, all three
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to Mother Goose (the Old Nursery Rhymes).
Title Page The Fair Maid who the first of Spring Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill Jack Sprat and His Wife Rain, Rain, Go Away	The Old Woman Who Lived Under a Hill As I was Going to St. Ives... (contains self-portrait) Man in the Wilderness A Little Nothing Woman	Bye Baby Bunting Hark! Hark! The Dogs do Bark! The Cow Jumped Over the Moon Little Miss Muffet A Ring of Roses
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to A Midsummer Night's Dream
Act I, scene i : Hermia and Helena Act I, scene ii: Quince's House Act II, scene i: Puck and a Fairy Act II, scene ii: Another part of the Wood	Act II, scene ii: Fairy Songs Act II, scene ii: Oberon Act II, scene ii: Moonlight in the Wood Act III, scene i: Titania and Bottom Act III, scene i: Fairies	Act III, scene ii: Puck and Lysander Act III, scene ii: Puck Act IV, scene i: Bottom and Titania Act IV, scene i: The Fairy Flew Off with the Changling Fair Helena (1909)
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to Wind in the Willows.
Wind in the Willows 1 Wind in the Willows 2	Wind in the Willows 3 Wind in the Willows 4	Wind in the Willows 5 Wind in the Willows 6
Color Illustrations from Goblin Market.
Frontispiece Down the glen tramp little men	White and golden Lizzie stood	Laura would call the little ones
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to Undine.
Undine outside the window At the back of the little tonge of land, there lay a fearsome forest right perilous to traverse A beautiful little girl clad in rich garments stood there on the threshold smiling The Infancy of Undine He saw by the moonlight momentarily unveiled, a little insland encircled by the food; and there under the branches of the overhanging trees was Undine The Knight took the beautiful girl in his arms and bore her over the narrow space where the stream had divided her little island from the shore He held up the gold piece, crying at each leap of his, "False gold ! false coin ! false coin! " At length, they all pointed their stained fingers at me When the storm threatened to burst on their heads, she uttered a laughing reproof to the clouds. "Come, come," saith she, "look to it that you wet us not" "Little niece," said Kuhleborn, "forget not that I am here with thee as a guide" Bertalda "She hath a mark, like a violet, between her shoulders, and another like it on the instep of her left foot" Bertalda in the Black Valley Soon she was lost to sight in the Danube He could see Undine beneath the crystal vault
Images from Arthur Rackham's illustrations to Tales from Shakespeare, and others.
Cordelia Ganeymede Fair Helena Titania & Peasebottom The Tempest 1 The Tempest 2	Paulina Perdita Widow Whitson Midsummer Midsummer BW	Twilight of the Gods Rhinegold and the Valkyrie Valkyrie Undine
Illustrations from Irish Fairy Tales
My life became a ceaseless scurry and wound and escape Wild and shy and monstrous creatures ranged in her plains and forests He might think, as he stared on a staring horse, "a boy cannot wag his tail to keep the flies off" How he strained and panted to catch on that pursuing person	Then they went hand in hand in the country that smells of appleblossoms and honey Sitting on a branch, she looked with angry woe at the straining and snarling horde below The banquet hall was in a tumult The thumping of his big boots grew as continuous as the pattering of hailstones on a roof	"This one is fat," said cuillen, and she rolled a bulky Fenian along like a wheel He was surrounded by giant toads They offered a cow for each leg of her cow, but she would not accept that offer The Hag of the Mill was a bony, thin pole of a hag with odd feet
Illustrations from Comus, Cinderella, English Fairy Tales, Sleeping Beauty, and elsewhere.
Sleeping Beauty Birds Trees and Fairies Tulips Comus 1 Comus 2 Cupid's Alley (detail)	Father Christmas Curtains Fairy Dance 1 Fairy Dance 2 Fairy Lake Housebuilding	Leaves Little People Mischief Serpentine Tale 1 Tales 2 Workers
Complete Illustration to Feats on the Fjords (1899).

It came nearer and nearer, and at last quite up to the can of ale" In the porch she found Oddo And that vessel, he knew, was the pirate schooner He sometimes hammered at his skiff

No other than the Mountain-Demon At the end of a ledge he found the remains of a ladder made of birch-poles In desperation Hunt, unarmed as he was, threw himself upon the pirate It was Hund, with his feet died under his horse, and the bridle held by a man on each side

Rackham and Fairy Backgrounds

You are welcome to copy any of my Artpassions backgrounds:
backgrounds from my portfolio, or
my original free background site at Geocities, or
fairy backgrounds, or the backgrounds directory on artpassions. I have not been diligent about updating the resource pages but please feel free to browse and help yourself.

Other Arthur Rackham Resources

Rackham Posters and Art Prints

Rackham Art Prints at Artsy Craftsy

Even more Rackham prints

Search for Rackham Posters and Prints

2007 Rackham Calendars

Also recommended are the Fairies 2007 Calendar
and the hardcover fairy engagement calendar -- you get a new fairy every week.

See Art Print and Poster Finder for any current coupon I know about.

Fonts

You can download a free demo version of Scriptorium's Rackham Italic in Zip format or Stuffit for MacOS. Installation instructions are included. Or try a demo version of the Rackham Goblins font: Zip format or Stuffit for MacOS.

Other Art Images

Questions? Difficulties?

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