Kate Greenaway’s original illustrations for Mother Goose
“The Battle of the Birds” illustration by Arthur Rackham
Edmund Evans (1826–1905), engraver and printer
Kate Greenaway, illustrator
Mother Goose, or, The old nursery rhymes
New York: George Routledge and Sons, 1881
George Arents Collection
Mother Goose, or, The old nursery rhymes
Victorian-era children’s book artist and author Kate Greenaway began her career during the early 1870s illustrating greeting cards. Buoyed by her success, in 1879 she arranged the printing of her first book, Under the Window, a collection of idyllic verse about childhood. This bestselling work was followed by several other volumes—including The Birthday Book (1880), Mother Goose (1881), and Little Ann (1883)—all of which met with equal success.
Like fellow illustrators Walter Crane and Randolph Caldecott, Greenaway sought to publish innovative children’s works of the highest quality. Her focus on depictions of children, however, set her illustrations apart from those of her contemporaries. Greenaway’s work is cherished today for its unaffected, pastoral imagery.
Currently on View at Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
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