14 December 2020
Arthur Rackham's illustrations have adorned A Christmas Carol and the pages of some of the world's best-loved children's books, including Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Grimms' Fairy Tales. To celebrate his long association with the festive season, we revisit his most magical works.
The Meeting of Oberon and Titania, 1908 (Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images)
British artist Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was the pre-eminent illustrator of the early 20th century. His imaginative colour plates of gossamer fairies, mischievous goblins and gnarled trees enchanted and petrified readers in equal measure.
The art historian and broadcaster Kenneth Clark, author and presenter of seminal BBC TV series Civilisation, wrote of his fear at even opening the pages of his Grimms' Fairy Tales book - such were the "images of terror".