Arthur Augustus Dixon (8 May 1872 ''–'' 1959) was an English artist and illustrator who produced illustrations for authors such as

Angela Brazil Angela Brazil (pronounced "brazzle") (30 November 186813 March 1947) was one of the first British writers of "modern schoolgirls' stories", written from the characters' point of view and intended primarily as entertainment rather than moral ins ...

Elsie J. Oxenham Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley (25 November 1880 – 9 January 1960), was an English girls' story writer, who took the name Oxenham as her pseudonym when her first book, '' Goblin Island'', was published in 1907. Her Abbey Series of 38 titles are he ...

and Bessie Marchant.

Life

Arthur was born and raised in

St Pancras, London St Pancras () is a district in north London. It was originally a medieval ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the area it covered now forms around ...

by his father, Richard Dixon, a grainer, and his mother Rosa. In 1887 his father passed away and Rosa moved with Arthur and his two brothers, Frederick and Herbert to

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. In 1899, Arthur married Cecil Elsie Soweby in

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of the ...

and together they had one daughter born a year later. The two settled in

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

until Arthur Dixon passed away in 1959.

Work

Arthur was a prolific illustrator in his time and made illustrations for reprints of around thirty-five classic works by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many st ...

and

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

. The style he employs has been termed 'neo-Pre-Raphaelite' which was indicative of his peers such as

Byam Shaw John Byam Liston Shaw (13 November 1872 – 26 January 1919), commonly known as Byam Shaw, was a British painter, illustrator, designer and teacher. He is not to be confused with his sons, Glen Byam Shaw, actor and theatre director, and James B ...

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (25 January 1872 – 10 March 1945) was an English artist known for her paintings, book illustrations, and a number of works in stained glass. Life Fortescue-Brickdale was born at her parents' house, Birchamp Vil ...

. He also exhibited paintings and drawings at such venues as

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

, as well as the New Gallery.

List of Books illustrated by Arthur A. Dixon

* ''Stories from the Bible Illustrated by Arthur Dixon'' (London: Blackie & Son, 1914) * ''Scripture Stories For Children Illustrated by Arthur Dixon'' (London: Blackie & Son, 1915) * ''Hard Cash'' By Charles Reade * ''The Poetical Works of Mathew Arnold'' * ''The Manor House School'' by Angela Brazil * ''Children's Stories From Russian Fairy Tales'' (Raphael Tuck & Sons) * ''The Precious Gift'' by Theodora Wilson Wilson * ''A Princess's Token'' by E. Everett-Green

List of Paintings by Arthur A. Dixon

Source: * ''Offerings'' (1902) 4 x 60 inches* ''Thomas More with his Daughters Entertaining Cardinal Wolsey'' 7.8 x 19.9 inches* ''Garden scene with a seated figure reading a book to the foreground, a woman and a young boy looking down a well and children dancing beyond,'' (1913) 7.6 x 31.9 inches* ''David Copperfield'' * ''The Victor'' (1915) * ''The Queen of Clubs'' (1902) * ''Portrait of Lina Susan Penelope Norman''

Legacy

One of his illustrations was sold at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

for £7,170 in 2003. Dixon was characterised by the ''Dictionary of British Book Illustrators'' as 'generally competent' and 'conventional and prosaic with sentimental overtones'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Arthur 1872 births 1959 deaths 20th-century English artists 20th-century British illustrators Artists from London