Francis Donkin Bedford
Francis Donkin Bedford (born May 21, 1864 in Kensington , London , † 1954 ibid) was a British painter and illustrator who became known for his numerous book illustrations, especially for children's books .
Life
Frank Bedford was the sixth of ten children of solicitor Edwin Bedford and Caroline Donkin. After attending Westminster School , he completed an architecture degree at the South Kensington School from 1881 . In 1885 he moved to the Royal Academy of Arts , where he began training as a painter and illustrator. From 1885 to 1891 he made various trips to the continent for his Grand Tour . In 1895 he married the painter Helen Carter (1874–1949), with whom he had four daughters.
Bedford illustrated his first book of nursery rhymes and received various other commissions in the 1890s. With his illustrations for the novel Peter and Wendy (1911) by James Matthew Barrie , Bedford contributed significantly to the success of Peter Pan with readers.
His Victorian style went out of fashion in the 1920s, but he was still receiving commissions to illustrate reprints of well-known Charles Dickens works such as The Magic Fishbone (1921), A Christmas Carol (1923) and The Cricket on the Hearth (1927) . His illustrations were also in demand for new editions of other works from the 19th century, such as by Charlotte Brontë , WM Thackeray and Oliver Goldsmith .
Works
Note: The reproduction of Bedford's works in Germany is subject to the seventy-year protection period.
- Illustrations for JM Barrie: Peter Pan and Wendy , authorized School edition, first published in 1915. At Project Gutenberg
Web links
- Francis Donkin Bedford ( Memento of February 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) website with short biography and catalog raisonné
- FD Bedford short bio at neverpedia
Individual evidence
- ^ Biographical data of Francis Donkin Bedford in "Golden Age of Children's Book Illustration," by Richard Dalby, Gallery Books, 1991, p. 56
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bedford, Francis Donkin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bedford, FD |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British painter and illustrator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 21, 1864 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kensington |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1954 |
| Place of death | Kensington |