Ernest Howard Shepard



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Ernest Howard Shepard MC OBE (British, 1879-1976)

	Ernest Shepard is perhaps the best loved of British illustrators. He was born in St. John's Wood London in 1879, the son of an architect. He was educated at St. Pauls and then at the RA schools from 1897-1902. Shepard began drawing for Punch in 1907 becoming chief cartoonist there in 1945. His great success as an illustrator is connected with the unforgettable illustrations for A. A. Milne's Pooh books and Kenneth Grahame's, The Wind in the Willows. Shepard met E.V. Lucas during the period that he worked for Punch over some fifty years. Lucas was also a director of Methuen the publishers and it was he who first suggested that Shepard illustrate some children's verses for A. A. Milne which first appeared in Punch in 1924. References: 'Punch, or the London Charivari,' February 3, 1926: 131; Houfe: 297, Rawle Knox. The Work of E.H. Shepard, 1979.

			'I Shall Faint' pen and ink on card signed by the artist to reverse titled and annotated in pencil below mount 20.5 x 15.5 cm (sheet) £850 An Original Illustration for The Cowardly Prince. illustrated p. 49

			'Given to an Indian Woman' pen and ink over pencil and watercolour on whatman board initialled lower right signed and titled by the artist to reverse titled in pencil below mount 14.5 x 19.5 cm (board) £800 An Original Illustration for Red Indian Story. illustrated p. 88.

			'You Can Afford to Be...' 1930 pen and ink on card initialled lower left signed by the artist to reverse titled in pencil below mount 28 x 20.5 cm (board) £1,150 An Original Illustration for Kenneth Grahame. Dream Days. (1930), illustrated p. 28.

			An Original Illustration of the Poem 'Devon' By E. V. Lucas 1926 pen and ink over pencil, heightened with white on whatman board signed by the artist, lower right exhibition label of S.G. (no. 205) [Soho Gallery] to reverse of board 38.5 x 27 cm (board) Framed/glazed in gilt £1,750 The present fine drawing was published in Punch on February 3, 1926 and is illustrated p. 131 to illustrate a series of poems by Lucas on English counties titled "Mr Punch's County Songs" which was later published in book form in 1928. This large illustration depicts four scenes surrounding the poem in manuscript, all relating to Devon: Widdecombe Fair, Lorna Doone, Kingsley's Westward Ho! and Sir Francis Drake bowling. Original illustrations by Shepard are scarce and highly sought-after. The present example captures his deftness of line and ability to capture atmosphere and figurative scenes with a seamless ease. His work is represented in the collections of The British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Shepard archive at the University of Surrey.

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