Editorial 

Welcome to Illustration 85

Illustration for this quarter of 26 is one of the cheeriest yet, presenting a medley of uplifting images and interesting articles.

Our first essay is Emilka Jansen’s exploration of visual responses to The Wizard of Oz, a children’s classic that has stimulated many pictorial readings. Emilka applies a sharp critical eye to a series  of charming illustrations, and we follow this up with the Editor’s analysis of William Blake’s illustrated Songs of Innocence and Experience– works which chart other sorts of spiritual journey. The “Illustrator’s Interview” touches on another life-journey in the form of Chris Wormell’s  fascinating reflections on his work, some of it for writers such as Philip Pullman and Alan Garner, and Mark Bryant adds another dimension in his essay on the amusing satires of Frank Reynolds, an artist who could sniff out the vanities of his age. Other sorts of vanities are examined by Emma Newcombe in her piece on nineteenth century American tourism and graphic art, and we have a darker note in Jackie Banerjee’s article on the little-remembered Frederic Villiers, a war-artist with a conscience. We have a number of interesting short pieces as well. David Fletcher focuses on Donald Denton, a distinguished American illustrator working in an Art Deco idiom about whom barely anything is known, and Warren Clements continues our series on small publishers with his revealing account of the Nestlings Press. To complete the issue, we have some detailed reviews. The Editor writes about an outstanding exhibition celebrating Noel Carrington at the Higgins Art Gallery in Bedford, and we also have a detailed reflection on an exciting new book, Wild Folk, by Jackie Morris and Tamsin Abbott. 

News and Reviews

A round-up of interesting new and forthcoming exhibitions and books, along with information on events.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

The Wizard of Oz has never been out of print and continues to fascinate modern audiences. The famous film, with its brilliant art direction and Technicolor imagery, was an attempt to show how Baum’s story might look. But the text has been extensively illustrated too. Emilka Jansen examines some of the ways in which this perennial classic has been pictured in illustration over a long period.

Innocence and Experience

William Blake is one of Britain’s greatest creators – a complex artist/author who illustrated his own work. His Songs of Innocence and Experience are minute, deceptively simple reflections on the “contraries of the human soul” as it moves between joy and horror, a state of grace and despair. The Editor introduces this extraordinary dual-work, focusing on the interface between images and words.

Frank Reynolds

Though less well known today, Reynolds was an influential figure in his own time, providing satirical commentaries on political and social developments of the first part of the twentieth century along with illustrations for Dickens. His humour, which is by turns wry and outspoken, brutal and delicate, is analysed by Mark Bryant.

Chris Wormell

Chris Wormell has provided memorable illustrations and book-jacket designs for Philip Pullman, Alan Garner and Susan Hill. Chris’s art is atmospheric, sensitive, and arresting. He talks about his life’s history and inspirations in our continuing series of “Illustrator’s Interviews.”

American Scenery

Tourism was a developing activity in nineteenth century America as Americans discovered the impressive landscapes of their native home. Their travels to view the sights became a version of the European “Grand Tour” – and they were also influenced by visual representations of those sights. Emma Newcombe explores the significance of a famous gift book of the time.

Frederic Villiers

The conflicts of the past, and how they were represented, are still relevant to our understandings of how the world behaves. War has always been a subject of art, and Villiers was one of the prime observers. Jackie Banerjee examines the work of a compassionate artist who confronted his viewers with the hard facts of suffering. 

Donald Denton

Denton flourished in the “Roaring Twenties” – the age of Gatsby, Jazz, and extravagant decadence. But very little is known of this sophisticated American illustrator, who captures the energy and sexual permissiveness of his time. David Fletcher presents some examples of Denton’s striking art and makes an appeal for more information.

The Nestlings Press

Running a small publishing business can never be easy – but there are many rewards as well. Warren Clements explains the challenges of producing his books, which are illustrated by some enchanting artists of the present and the past.

Noel Carrington: Review

Noel Carrington was the driving force behind Puffin Picture Books and revolutionized standards in illustrated imprints for children. These delightful tomes are displayed in an outstanding exhibition at the Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford. The Editor provides a detailed review.

Wild Folk: Review

This beautiful book is the product of a collaboration between Jackie Morris (the writer) and Tamsin Abbott (the illustrator). It’s a fantastic celebration of mythologies and the workings of the natural world. The Editor is in conversation with the author.

Resources

Look and Learn

Information about the latest contributions along with details of important resources.

Contributors

Emilka Jansen is a Ph.D. student in English at Vanderbilt University, where she studies nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature, with special interests in ecocriticism, the novel, poetry, and visual and material culture. Emilka received her B.A. in English and Art History from Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY.

Dr Simon Cooke is Illustration’s editor and a widely published writer on the book arts, with a specialism in the Victorian period. His latest book, Illustrating the Victorian Supernatural, was published by Ohio University Press in 2025.

Dr Mark Bryant was an editor in literary and academic book publishing before becoming a writer, journalist, lecturer and curator. He has written for the Independent, History Today, British Journalism Review, Military History Monthly and other publications. His books include the Dictionary of 20th Century British Cartoonists and Caricaturists, and he has contributed articles to Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He is a former trustee of the Cartoon Museum, London.

Chris Wormell was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire in 1955 and has lived for most of his life in London. After leaving school in 1973 he worked for ten years in various low paid jobs before taking up wood engraving and turning to illustration. Since 1983 he has been a freelance illustrator working in advertising, design, editorial and publishing. He has written and illustrated a number of children’s picture books as well as two children’s novels. He recently illustrated Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy as well the first two volumes of the Book of Dust trilogy. At present, he is in the middle of illustrating the third: The Rose Field.

Emma Newcombe received a Ph.D. in American Studies from Boston University, where she studied the print and visual culture of the nineteenth-century tourist industry. After serving as a visiting assistant professor of American Studies at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, she began working in higher education administration. 

Dr Jacqueline Banerjee took her degrees in English Language and Literature from King’s College London, and subsequently taught English literature at universities in Canada, Ghana, Japan and England. She has written four books of literary criticism and two research guides; she has also published widely in academic journals. For several decades, she has been a regular reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement. Since January 2021 she has been the Editor-in-Chief and Webmaster of the Victorian Web.

David Fletcher was born in the northern city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK, in 1948. He was an illustrator until retirement at the age of 65, and later moved south to live in Broadstairs, Kent. He is a serious collector of illustrated books – doing much research on the subject.

Warren Clements was for many years a writer and editor with The Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto. He now publishes books through a small Canada-only imprint, Nestlings Press, specializing in humour and illustration.