Annie French ~ Favorite Illustrator

"In The Woods"

Annie French (1872 - 1965)

Illustration by Annie French (1872 - 1965)

I wrote a version of this blog post at a companion blog in 2010. I'm re-posting it here because the link to the old post is no longer active. I love Annie French's work! I have more of her illustrations posted at my Art of Narrative Tumblr, and on my Art of Narrative Facebook.

I became aware of Annie French after seeing another one of her wonderful illustrations at Children's/ Fantasy Illustrations, a great blog featuring classic and modern book illustration (that no longer exists). The top illustration is my favorite of the two. If anyone knows what stories these illustrate, please let me know!

I couldn't find a whole lot about her, but here's a bit:

Artist Profile: Annie French
19th & 20th Century European Artist 1872 - 1965

Biography: The daughter of a metallurgist, Annie French was born in Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Fra Newbery and the Belgian Symbolist, Jean Delville (1896-1902). Influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, Aubrey Beardsley and Jessie M King, she developed a style combining vivid colours, curvilinearity of form and almost confetti-like textures... (To read the biography at its original site, please click on her name!)

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The daughter of a metallurgist, Annie French was born in Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Fra Newbery and the Belgian Symbolist, Jean Delville (1896-1902).Influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, Aubrey Beardsley and Jessie M King, she developed a style combining vivid colours, curvilinearity of form and almost confetti-like textures. While still a student, she contributed an illustration to The Book of the Jubilee of the University of Glasgow (1901), and later illustrated one book, a selection of Heine?s poems for Foulis (1908). However, her watercolours (often on vellum) and drawings are mainly in the form of illustrations, and she designed a number of postcards and greetings cards. In 1906, she began to share a studio with Bessie Innes Young and Jane Younger and, three years later, became Tutor in Ceramic Decoration at Glasgow School of Art as successor to JESSIE M KING. But following her marriage to the artist George Woolliscroft Rhead (1854-1920), she settled in London, and became a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy, until the mid nineteen-twenties. She died in Jersey. © Loch Gallery – Printed under “Fair Use” for Educational Purposes

Text © 2016 Art of Narrative