~Amy Millicent Sowerby~

 Illustrations from the First edition of Childhood
by Millicent Sowerby, published by Chatto & Windus 1907.
This is Milicent Sowerby's 3rd illustrated book.

Millicent Sowerby was born in Northumberland,
England, in 1878-1967 the daughter of designer
and illustrator John G. Sowerby.
Her style was clearly influenced
by the famed Victorian illustrator Kate Greenaway,
usually depicting innocent children at play using
flat colors and strong outlines.

 

Millicent Sowerby werd geboren in Northumberland
in Engeland in 1878, en is overleden in 1967.
Ze was de dochter van de ontwerper
en illustrator John. G. Sowerby.
Haar stijl van tekenen werd sterk beïnvloed
door Kate Greenaway, en vaak koos ze kinderen
die zaten te spelen, om te tekenen in zachte kleuren!

  
Finding encouragement at home, Sowerby started
painting at an early age. She took some art classes
for several years but distance prevented her from
attending them for more than two days a week.
Mostly, she was self-taught, learning from
the work of other illustrators.
Thuis werd ze gestimuleerd om te schilderen
zodoende volgde ze lessen maar vanwege
de lange afstand
kon ze er maar 2x per week naar toe.
Hoofdzakelijk heeft ze zichzelf alles zelf aangeleerd!

In an attempt to help their family’s finances,
Sowerby and her sister Githa collaborated on
children’s books. Githa wrote the stories and
verses while Sowerby illustrated them for over
twenty years. Sowerby was also a prolific illustrator
of children’s picture post cards, depicting scenes from Shakespeare, and Kate Greenaway type girls.
Later, she designed thirty sets of cards for a
yearly series called ‘Postcards for the Little Ones’.

 
When Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland went out of
copyright in 1907, like other illustrators,
Sowerby was commissioned to illustrate it.
Millicent Sowerby werd uitkozen om
Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland te illustreren!

Well into her eighties, Sowerby remained
a watercolorist and painted flowers.
Toen ze eenmaal 80jaar was geweest
schilderde ze nog steeds met waterverf
en schilderde meestal bloemen!

“It has always been the beautiful in childhood
that has attracted me. I love flowers and bright colours,
and I generally use these in the backgrounds
for my paintings of children.”

Enkele door haar geïllustreerde boeken:
A few books:
-Sowerby, Githa, The Wise Book, Dent, 1906.
-Carroll, Lewis, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 1908.
-Sowerby, Githa, Childhood, London, 1907,
-Sowerby, Githa, The Bumbletoes, 1907.
-Sowerby, Githa, The Merry Book, 1908.
-Sowerby, Githa, Yesterday’s Children, 1908.
-Sowerby, Githa, The Happy Book, 1909.
-Stevenson, Robert Louis, A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1909.
-Stevenson, Robert Louis, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, 1909.
-My Own Picture Book (with Anne Anderson),  1930.