William Wallace Denslow
William Wallace Denslow (born May 5, 1856 in Philadelphia , † March 29, 1915 ) was an American illustrator and cartoonist who is still known today for his collaboration with the author L. Frank Baum . His most famous illustrations are those he created for the first American edition of The Wizard of Oz .
Life
William Wallace Denslow was born in Philadelphia, but lived in Chicago from the 1890s , where he met Baum. In addition to the most famous book, The Wizard of Oz , to which both held the right together, he created together with Baum By the Candelabra's Glare , Father Goose: His Book and Dot and Tot in Merryland .
The Wizard of Oz , which quickly became a huge hit, stood out above other children's books published around the same time. Denslow's illustrations played a large part in this. Denslow was significantly influenced by both Art Nouveau and Japanese woodblock prints. Art critics rate the illustrations Denslow created for the Wizard of Oz among his best works, and the art critic J. M. Bowles declared Denslow an "impressionist for the little ones" in 1903, who banished everything inessential from his drawings. Many of the reviewers were also enthusiastic about the pictures, sometimes praising them more than the text or attributing the success of the book mainly to them.
Denslow's little childlike drawing of Dorothy was occasionally criticized. Baum's later remarks and letters from his wife Maud also suggest that Baum shared this assessment. Years later he wrote that an author seldom agreed to the illustration of his characters because they seldom matched his vision.
Denslow and Baum's collaboration ended in 1902 when they fell out over their rights to a music revue based on Baum's Wizard of Oz . Denslow had become so wealthy with his rights to the book and the stage version that he could afford to buy an island on the Bermuda coast . He crowned himself "King Denslow the First". However, Denslow was also an alcoholic and lost his fortune due to his alcoholism .
He died on March 29, 1915 pneumonia .
literature
- Michael Patrick Hearn (Ed.): All About the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum . Europa Verlag, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-203-75550-5
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Denslow, William Wallace |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American illustrator and cartoonist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 5, 1856 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Philadelphia |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 29, 1915 |