Ernest Aris
Encyclopedia
Alfred Ernest Walter George Aris, FZS. SGA. (1882–1963), was an author and illustrator of children's books. He worked on more than 170 publications. Ernest Aris also designed cigarette card
s, postcard
s, toys and games.
, London
on 22 April 1882. He moved to Bradford
, where he attended the Technical College and School of Art, and earned his diploma in 1900, under the tutorship of Charles Stephenson. Later at the Royal College of Art
in London, he studied under Moira & Chambers. According to Who's Who
(UK), Aris was an Art Master at the International Correspondence School, whilst Who Was Who in Art and The World Biographical Index of Artists refer to this as the Indian Civil Service School (ICSS).
to be archived at the Victoria and Albert Museum
. He also designed cigarette cards, postcard
s, toys and games.
He specialised as a portrait
artist working in charcoal and wash as well as watercolour. His work was exhibited at the Royal Academy
, Royal Society of British Artists
, Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
.
He entered drawings for the Christmas
supplement of a national weekly illustrated newspaper The Graphic
. His first book appeared in 1909 and he was to go on to become an author/ illustrator of children’s stories; his illustrations were used in a series of books published in 1989. He also produced cigarette cards, postcards, cartoon
s, games, jigsaw puzzle
s and advertisements.
He wrote and illustrated children’s books
. According to the dust jacket
notes for a book published in 1947, he was the "Author and illustrator of some 170 different titles". An article in The Artist (1938) describes him as "an illustrator
of over 400 children’s books, a master of the art of pleasing the child mind". There can be no doubt that he was indeed a prolific illustrator, whose work generated a whole new genre in children's illustration and would go on to create a multitude of imitators.
wrote to Aris, using her married name of Mrs. Heelis, to ask what he would charge for illustrating a booklet in the style of Jemima Puddle-Duck by Beatrix Potter
and was most put out when, "He had the effrontery to inform the offended author that he had never seen that classic!" Ernest, who had worked in Windermere, was seemingly aware of the literary identity of Mrs. Heelis and chose to respond in this way as he had already imitated Jemima in his book Mrs. Beak Duck. He sensed an opportunity and sent her publisher, Harold Warne, some examples of his work and offered his services. Harold was keen to publish more tales by the reluctant Beatrix and forwarded the books, and Ernest's letter, to her. Rather than be annoyed, she saw this as both a compliment and, as her eyesight was failing and because her hands were getting stiff, an opportunity. She wrote that she had "wished for a long time that you would find some second string – this man to my thinking is just what we want."
Beatrix wrote direct to Ernest commissioning and ultimately purchasing six drawing
s for a story, which she had in mind as a gift for her niece Nancy. She provided Ernest with some rough sketches and instructions as to composition and colouring, which, together with Ernest's originals are now in the ownership of the Victoria and Albert Museum
. In engaging him, she is careful not to let him know that she is Beatrix Potter. Within the month, Ernest has finished the commission, and he forwards the drawings, advising Mrs. Heelis that, "I have not adopted your colour schemes as there was a tendency to be on the sombre side". He also altered the composition. Although she advised, "Russet brown and blue grey check (rather than greens) would show well on the elves clothing" Ernest, in his inimitable way, chose red. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/prints_books/features/potter/illustrating/ernest/index.html Beatrix later used aspects of design and colour presented to her by Ernest. She swapped his meadow bedecked with yellow flowers to open fell, but she retained his two Oakmen carrying a bundle suspended from a pole, which had not been a feature of her draft sketch. He advised her that in one of her sketches, "The figures are a little too near the front of the picture" and she used that comment to open out the design.
At the same time that Ernest was being considered as a 'second string' to Beatrix, an American publisher used Ernest's pictures to illustrate a plagiarised version of Beatrix's The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit
. Beatrix's publishers were then up in arms when Ernest's book The Treasure Seekers featured a rabbit called Peter. Whilst she advised Harold to sue the publishers she suggested that they buy Aris out. Beatrix defended Ernest but advised Warne to remonstrate with the publishers.
Warne's did exactly that, and Ernest apologised direct to Beatrix, thus acknowledging his awareness of her literary identity. Beatrix told her publishers that Aris was both "artlessly conceited" and a "little bounder
" which put paid to plans for a partnership.
He changed publishers and adopted pseudonyms; his work as Robin A Hood is well known, but few are aware that he issued six books as Dan Crow.
and distributed free with a new line of Cadbury's Cocoa advertised as ‘The Children’s Cocoa’. Each of the animals had their own personalities, and the press release advised that they "were exclusively designed by an expert in child psychology". It was a huge success, with some 300,000 children collecting these toy figures, known collectively as The Cococubs, which were hailed as "one of the cleverest publicity schemes of the year" in advertising
.
. His other interests included: fishing, travel
, entomology
, and swimming
. He was an inveterate collector, hoarding matchbox
labels and stamps as well as cigarette card
s; he also enjoyed gardening
, and collecting old furniture
.
He was obviously good company, as Beatrix Potter
described him as both "amusing" and a "scamp
", whilst his pal Charles Bayne (the Editor of Little Folks from 1908 to 1915) said that he had an, "endless store of humorous ideas".
Ernest died (age 80) at his home in Hornsey
, North London
, on 14 April 1963.
Cigarette card
Cigarette cards are trade cards issued by tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and advertise cigarette brands.-History:Beginning in 1875, cards depicting actresses, baseball players, Indian chiefs, and boxers were issued by the US-based Allen and Ginter tobacco company. These are...
s, postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s, toys and games.
Early life
Aris was born in IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, 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...
on 22 April 1882. He moved to Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, where he attended the Technical College and School of Art, and earned his diploma in 1900, under the tutorship of Charles Stephenson. Later at the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
in London, he studied under Moira & Chambers. According to Who's Who
Who's Who (UK)
Who's Who is an annual British publication of biographies which vary in length of about 30,000 living notable Britons.-History:...
(UK), Aris was an Art Master at the International Correspondence School, whilst Who Was Who in Art and The World Biographical Index of Artists refer to this as the Indian Civil Service School (ICSS).
Career
As a commercial artist, his work was selected by Frank PickFrank Pick
Frank Pick LLB Hon. RIBA was a British transport administrator. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1902, he worked at the North Eastern Railway, before moving to the Underground Electric Railways Company of London in 1906...
to be archived 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...
. He also designed cigarette cards, postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s, toys and games.
He specialised as a portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
artist working in charcoal and wash as well as watercolour. His work was exhibited at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, Royal Society of British Artists
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.-History:...
, Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours , initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, , is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London.-History:In 1831 the society was founded as the New Society of Painters in Water...
.
He entered drawings for the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
supplement of a national weekly illustrated newspaper The Graphic
The Graphic
The Graphic was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Limited....
. His first book appeared in 1909 and he was to go on to become an author/ illustrator of children’s stories; his illustrations were used in a series of books published in 1989. He also produced cigarette cards, postcards, cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s, games, jigsaw puzzle
Jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces.Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture...
s and advertisements.
He wrote and illustrated children’s books
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
. According to the dust jacket
Dust jacket
The dust jacket of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. This outer cover has folded flaps that hold it to the front and back book covers...
notes for a book published in 1947, he was the "Author and illustrator of some 170 different titles". An article in The Artist (1938) describes him as "an 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...
of over 400 children’s books, a master of the art of pleasing the child mind". There can be no doubt that he was indeed a prolific illustrator, whose work generated a whole new genre in children's illustration and would go on to create a multitude of imitators.
Literary Associations
Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
wrote to Aris, using her married name of Mrs. Heelis, to ask what he would charge for illustrating a booklet in the style of Jemima Puddle-Duck by Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
and was most put out when, "He had the effrontery to inform the offended author that he had never seen that classic!" Ernest, who had worked in Windermere, was seemingly aware of the literary identity of Mrs. Heelis and chose to respond in this way as he had already imitated Jemima in his book Mrs. Beak Duck. He sensed an opportunity and sent her publisher, Harold Warne, some examples of his work and offered his services. Harold was keen to publish more tales by the reluctant Beatrix and forwarded the books, and Ernest's letter, to her. Rather than be annoyed, she saw this as both a compliment and, as her eyesight was failing and because her hands were getting stiff, an opportunity. She wrote that she had "wished for a long time that you would find some second string – this man to my thinking is just what we want."
Beatrix wrote direct to Ernest commissioning and ultimately purchasing six drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
s for a story, which she had in mind as a gift for her niece Nancy. She provided Ernest with some rough sketches and instructions as to composition and colouring, which, together with Ernest's originals are now in the ownership of 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 engaging him, she is careful not to let him know that she is Beatrix Potter. Within the month, Ernest has finished the commission, and he forwards the drawings, advising Mrs. Heelis that, "I have not adopted your colour schemes as there was a tendency to be on the sombre side". He also altered the composition. Although she advised, "Russet brown and blue grey check (rather than greens) would show well on the elves clothing" Ernest, in his inimitable way, chose red. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/prints_books/features/potter/illustrating/ernest/index.html Beatrix later used aspects of design and colour presented to her by Ernest. She swapped his meadow bedecked with yellow flowers to open fell, but she retained his two Oakmen carrying a bundle suspended from a pole, which had not been a feature of her draft sketch. He advised her that in one of her sketches, "The figures are a little too near the front of the picture" and she used that comment to open out the design.
At the same time that Ernest was being considered as a 'second string' to Beatrix, an American publisher used Ernest's pictures to illustrate a plagiarised version of Beatrix's The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit
The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit
The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit is a children’s book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in December 1906. The book tells of a bad little rabbit who is fired upon by a hunter and loses his tail and whiskers...
. Beatrix's publishers were then up in arms when Ernest's book The Treasure Seekers featured a rabbit called Peter. Whilst she advised Harold to sue the publishers she suggested that they buy Aris out. Beatrix defended Ernest but advised Warne to remonstrate with the publishers.
Warne's did exactly that, and Ernest apologised direct to Beatrix, thus acknowledging his awareness of her literary identity. Beatrix told her publishers that Aris was both "artlessly conceited" and a "little bounder
Rake (character)
A rake, short for rakehell, is a historic term applied to a man who is habituated to immoral conduct, frequently a heartless womanizer. Often a rake was a man who wasted his fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process...
" which put paid to plans for a partnership.
He changed publishers and adopted pseudonyms; his work as Robin A Hood is well known, but few are aware that he issued six books as Dan Crow.
Designer of The Cococubs
In 1934 he designed a range of animal characters manufactured by the toy firm of Britain'sW. Britain
The W. Britain brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, who in 1893 invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. The company quickly became the industry...
and distributed free with a new line of Cadbury's Cocoa advertised as ‘The Children’s Cocoa’. Each of the animals had their own personalities, and the press release advised that they "were exclusively designed by an expert in child psychology". It was a huge success, with some 300,000 children collecting these toy figures, known collectively as The Cococubs, which were hailed as "one of the cleverest publicity schemes of the year" in advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
.
Personal
Aris was hard of hearing, and by the age of 60, he was profoundly deaf. He returned to employment with the International Correspondence School distance-learning. He enjoyed the operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
. His other interests included: fishing, travel
Travel
Travel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...
, entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
, and swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
. He was an inveterate collector, hoarding matchbox
Matchbox
A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood designed to hold matches. It usually has a coarse striking surface on one edge for lighting the matches contained inside....
labels and stamps as well as cigarette card
Cigarette card
Cigarette cards are trade cards issued by tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and advertise cigarette brands.-History:Beginning in 1875, cards depicting actresses, baseball players, Indian chiefs, and boxers were issued by the US-based Allen and Ginter tobacco company. These are...
s; he also enjoyed gardening
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
, and collecting old furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
.
He was obviously good company, as Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
described him as both "amusing" and a "scamp
Scamp
Scamp may refer to:* Summercamp Music Festival,* A mischievous perhaps roguish person, especially a playful, impish youngster.* Scamp , a Disney cartoon puppy...
", whilst his pal Charles Bayne (the Editor of Little Folks from 1908 to 1915) said that he had an, "endless store of humorous ideas".
Ernest died (age 80) at his home in Hornsey
Hornsey
Hornsey is a district in London Borough of Haringey in north London in England. Whilst Hornsey was formerly the name of a parish and later a municipal borough of Middlesex, today, the name refers only to the London district. It is an inner-suburban area located north of Charing Cross.-Locale:The ...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, on 14 April 1963.