E. H. Shepard
Encyclopedia
Ernest Howard Shepard was an English
artist
and book illustrator
. He was known especially for his human-like animals
in illustrations for The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
and Winnie-the-Pooh
by A. A. Milne
.
Shepard was born in St John's Wood
, London
. Having shown some promise in drawing at St Paul's School, Shepard enrolled in Heatherleys School of Fine Art in Chelsea
. Having spent a productive year there, Shepard won a scholarship to the Royal Academy Schools
where he would meet Florence Eleanor Chaplin who would become his first wife. By 1906 Shepard had become a successful illustrator, having produced work for illustrated editions of Aesop's Fables
, David Copperfield
, and Tom Brown's Schooldays
, as well as an illustration for Punch
.
In 1915, Shepard received a commission in the Royal Artillery
. By 1916 Shepard started working for the Intelligence Department sketching the combat area within the view of his battery position. In 1918 he was awarded the Military Cross
for his service in World War I
.
Throughout the war he had been contributing to Punch
. He was hired as a regular staff cartoonist in 1921 and became lead cartoonist in 1945 but was removed from this post by Malcolm Muggeridge
, who became editor in 1953.
Shepard was recommended to Milne by another Punch staffer, E. V. Lucas
in 1923. Initially, Milne thought Shepard's style was not what he wanted, but used him to illustrate his book of poems When We Were Very Young
. Happy with the results, Milne insisted Shepard illustrate Winnie-the-Pooh
. Realising his illustrator's contribution to the book's success, Milne arranged for Shepard to receive a share of his royalties. Milne also inscribed a copy of Winnie-the-Pooh with the following personal verse:
Eventually, Shepard grew to resent "that silly old bear" and felt that these illustrations overshadowed his other work.
Shepard modelled Pooh not on the toy owned by Christopher Robin
, Milne's son, but on "Growler", a stuffed bear owned by his own son. (Growler no longer exists, having been given to his granddaughter Minnie Hunt and subsequently destroyed by a neighbour's dog.) His Pooh work is so famous that 300 of his preliminary sketches were exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum
in 1969, when he was 90 years old.
An E.H. Shepard painting of Winnie the Pooh is the only known oil painting of the famous teddy bear. It was purchased at an auction for $285,000 in London late in 2000. The painting is displayed at the Pavilion Gallery in Assiniboine Park
, Winnipeg
, Manitoba
, Canada
.
Shepard wrote two autobiographies: Drawn from Memory (1957) and Drawn From Life (1962).
In 1972, Shepard gave his personal collection of papers and illustrations to the University of Surrey
. These now form the E.H. Shepard Archive.
Shepard lived at Lodsworth
in West Sussex
. He had two children, Graham
(born 1907) and Mary
(born 1909), who each also became illustrators.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and book illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
. He was known especially for his human-like animals
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
in illustrations for The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
by Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer, most famous for The Wind in the Willows , one of the classics of children's literature. He also wrote The Reluctant Dragon; both books were later adapted into Disney films....
and Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
by A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
.
Career
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district of north-west London, England, in the City of Westminster, and at the north-west end of Regent's Park. It is approximately 2.5 miles north-west of Charing Cross. Once part of the Great Middlesex Forest, it was later owned by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Having shown some promise in drawing at St Paul's School, Shepard enrolled in Heatherleys School of Fine Art in Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
. Having spent a productive year there, Shepard won a scholarship to the Royal Academy Schools
where he would meet Florence Eleanor Chaplin who would become his first wife. By 1906 Shepard had become a successful illustrator, having produced work for illustrated editions of Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
, David Copperfield
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
, and Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842...
, as well as an illustration for Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
.
In 1915, Shepard received a commission in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
. By 1916 Shepard started working for the Intelligence Department sketching the combat area within the view of his battery position. In 1918 he was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
for his service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Throughout the war he had been contributing to Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
. He was hired as a regular staff cartoonist in 1921 and became lead cartoonist in 1945 but was removed from this post by Malcolm Muggeridge
Malcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
, who became editor in 1953.
Shepard was recommended to Milne by another Punch staffer, E. V. Lucas
E. V. Lucas
Edward Verrall Lucas was a versatile and popular English writer. His nearly 100 books demonstrate great facility with style, and are generally acknowledged as humorous by contemporary readers and critics. Some of his essays about the sport cricket are still considered among the best instructional...
in 1923. Initially, Milne thought Shepard's style was not what he wanted, but used him to illustrate his book of poems When We Were Very Young
When We Were Very Young
When We Were Very Young is a best-selling book of poetry by A. A. Milne. It was first published in 1924, and was illustrated by E. H. Shepard. Several of the verses were set to music by Harold Fraser-Simson...
. Happy with the results, Milne insisted Shepard illustrate Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
. Realising his illustrator's contribution to the book's success, Milne arranged for Shepard to receive a share of his royalties. Milne also inscribed a copy of Winnie-the-Pooh with the following personal verse:
When I am gone,
Let Shepard decorate my tomb,
And put (if there is room)
Two pictures on the stone:
Piglet from page a hundred and eleven,
And Pooh and Piglet walking (157)…
And Peter, thinking that they are my own,
Will welcome me to Heaven.
Eventually, Shepard grew to resent "that silly old bear" and felt that these illustrations overshadowed his other work.
Shepard modelled Pooh not on the toy owned by Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin Milne
Christopher Robin Milne was the son of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories and in two books of poems.-Early life:...
, Milne's son, but on "Growler", a stuffed bear owned by his own son. (Growler no longer exists, having been given to his granddaughter Minnie Hunt and subsequently destroyed by a neighbour's dog.) His Pooh work is so famous that 300 of his preliminary sketches were exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in 1969, when he was 90 years old.
An E.H. Shepard painting of Winnie the Pooh is the only known oil painting of the famous teddy bear. It was purchased at an auction for $285,000 in London late in 2000. The painting is displayed at the Pavilion Gallery in Assiniboine Park
Assiniboine Park
Assiniboine Park is a park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was established in 1904 and is located north of the Assiniboine Forest. Today, it covers , of these are designed in the English landscape style....
, Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Shepard wrote two autobiographies: Drawn from Memory (1957) and Drawn From Life (1962).
In 1972, Shepard gave his personal collection of papers and illustrations to the University of Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
. These now form the E.H. Shepard Archive.
Personal life
Lodsworth
Lodsworth is a small village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It is situated between Midhurst and Petworth, half a mile north of the A272 road...
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. He had two children, Graham
Graham Shepard
Graham Shepard was an English illustrator and cartoonist.He was the son of E. H. Shepard, the illustrator of Winnie-the-Pooh and The Wind in the Willows. He was educated at Marlborough College and Oxford...
(born 1907) and Mary
Mary Shepard
Mary Shepard was an English illustrator, best known for her illustrations of P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins....
(born 1909), who each also became illustrators.
Works illustrated
- 1924 - When We Were Very YoungWhen We Were Very YoungWhen We Were Very Young is a best-selling book of poetry by A. A. Milne. It was first published in 1924, and was illustrated by E. H. Shepard. Several of the verses were set to music by Harold Fraser-Simson...
- 1925 - Playtime and Company, Holly Tree
- 1926 - Winnie The PoohWinnie-the-Pooh (book)Winnie-the-Pooh is the first volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne. It is followed by The House at Pooh Corner. The book focuses on the adventures of a teddy bear called Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends Piglet, a small toy pig; Eeyore, a toy donkey; Owl, a live owl; and Rabbit, a...
, Everybody's Pepys - 1927 - Jeremy, Little One's Log, Let's Pretend, Now We Are SixNow We Are SixNow We Are Six is a book of thirty-five children's verses by A. A. Milne, with illustrations by E. H. Shepard. It was first published in 1927 including poems such as "King John's Christmas", "Binker" and "Pinkle Purr". Eleven of the poems in the collection are accompanied by illustrations featuring...
, Fun and Fantasy - 1928 - The House at Pooh CornerThe House at Pooh CornerThe House at Pooh Corner is the second volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A. A. Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard. It is notable for the introduction of the character Tigger, who went on to become a prominent figure in the Disney Winnie the Pooh franchise.- Plot :The title...
, The Golden Age - 1930 - Everybody's Boswell, Dream Days
- 1931 - The Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
, Christmas Poems, Bevis, Mother GooseMother GooseThe familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom... - 1932 - Sycamore Square
- 1933 - Everybody's Lamb, The Cricket in the Cage
- 1934 - Victoria Regina
- 1935 - Perfume from Provence
- 1936 - The Modern Struwwelpeter
- 1937 - Golden Sovereign, Chaeddar Gorge, As the Bee Sucks, Extra Perfume from Provence
- 1939 - The Reluctant DragonThe Reluctant DragonThe Reluctant Dragon is an 1898 children's story by Kenneth Grahame , which served as the key element to the 1941 feature film with the same name from Walt Disney Productions. The story has also been set to music as a children's operetta by John Rutter, with words by David Grant...
- 1941 - Gracious Majesty
- 1948 - Golden Age, Dream Days, Bertie's Escapade
- 1949 - York
- 1950 - Drover's Tale
- 1951 - Enter David Garrick
- 1953 - Silver Curlew
- 1954 - Cuckoo Clock, Susan, Bill and the Wolf-dog
- 1955 - Glass Slipper, Operation Wild Goose, Crystal Mountain, Frogmorton, The Brownies
- 1955 - Mary in the CountryMuriel WaceGolden Gorse .Muriel Wace was an English children's book author known by the pseudonym Golden Gorse....
- 1956 - The Islanders, The Pancake
- 1956 - Royal Reflections
- 1957 - Drawn from Memory, Briar Rose
- 1958 - Old Greek Fairy Tales
- 1959 - Tom Brown's School Days
- 1960 - Noble Company
- 1961 - Drawn from Life, Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
- 1965 - Ben and Brock
- 1969 - The Wind in the Willows (colour re-illustration), The Pooh Cookbook (cover)
- 1970 - Winnie the Pooh (colour re-illustration), The House at Pooh Corner (colour re-illustration)
- 1971 - The Pooh Party Book (cover)
External links
- Biography of E. H. Shepard at classicpooh.net
- "The man who hated Pooh", Tim Benson, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 6 March 2006. - »The Man who drew Pooh«: Obituary for Ernest Howard Shepard