This is a return I hope that I will not need
to repeat. Having been working on VIEW for over four years, I haven't
needed to step away this long before—but those of you who are aware of
my activities outside of VIEW, may know that I have been deep in a
project over the past few months, which has all but engulfed me. I'm
looking forward to getting back to VIEW much more regularly again.
Here's one that's been stewing all this time.
Born into a family of ceramic artists, Louis Rhead
(1857-1926) showed
exceptional artistic talent early on, and was sent to study in Paris from his
home in England at the age of 13. More study followed upon his return to
England, and by 1881, Rhead left the family business of ceramics and began
a career in publishing at Cassell in London.
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| The Snow Queen Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales and Wonder Stories 1914 |
During the 1890’s, the poster became a popular medium, and
Rhead was in a great place to take advantage of it. He became one of the
leading figures of the American Art Nouveau movement, and during most of that
decade his graphic work regularly appeared in association with "Century
Magazine", "Harper’s" publications, and "Scribner’s", among others.
When poster work began to decline, Rhead found new direction in
the growing market for book illustration—where he became a contributor
in the market of children’s classics. He regularly produced volumes with
tremendous amounts of line illustrations, sometimes recalling the graphic
styles of his earlier poster designs.
Rhead produced many memorable volumes, including Treasure Island, Robin
Hood, and Robinson Crusoe.
Rhead’s second passion in life became angling. It was not long after the turn of the
century that Rhead’s artistic talent and his interest in fishing joined—and in
the latter part of his career—he not only illustrated numerous books on the
subject, but became an expert on it, and an author as well. Illustration centered around fishing
found markets in his own books, and in the early sporting magazines of the day,
such as "Outdoors", and "Field and Stream".
In 1926 it was a fishing adventure that would end Rhead’s
life. After an hour-long struggle with a 30-pound snapping turtle, Rhead landed
the turtle, but the strain proved too much for him; he suffered a heart attack.
Two weeks later a subsequent heart attack ended his life, at age 68.
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| Vivien King Arthur and His Knights 1923 |
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| Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales and Wonder Stories 1914 |
