Bettina Ehrlich, ''née'' Bauer, (10 March 1903 – 10 October 1985) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

painter and illustrator of children's books, many of which she also wrote. She lived briefly in Berlin and Paris, and from 1938 in England.

Family and education

Bettina Bauer was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, on 10 March 1903. She studied for three years at the

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for thes ...

, or school of arts and crafts, of Vienna (now the University of Applied Arts). She lived in Berlin for two years and in Paris for one, and showed work in each city. On 27 November 1930 she married the sculptor Georg Ehrlich; like her, he was Jewish. After the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

in March 1938 it was too dangerous for them to be in Austria. Ehrlich was in England at the time, and stayed there; Bettina joined him in July 1938, bringing many of his works.

Work

Bettina Ehrlich worked in many

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, including

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and various printing techniques (

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

, lino-cutting,

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

and

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

). At the

Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the Mus ...

in Paris in 1937, she won a silver medal for her hand-painted

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

s. Ehrlich began illustrating and writing books for children during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. ''Show Me Yours: A Little Paintbook'' and ''Poo-Tsee, the Water-Tortoise'' were both published by Chatto & Windus in 1943, under the pen name "Bettina". In all, she illustrated more than twenty, most of which she wrote herself. She was an expert in the techniques of

bronze casting Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) ...

and

patination Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze and similar metals and metal alloys (tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes) or certain stones and wooden furniture (sheen produced ...

of bronze. After her husband died, in 1966, she produced casts from his

plasticine Plasticine is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. Though originally a brand name for the British version of the product, it is now applied generically in English as a product category ...

and

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

models; they were of the same high quality as those he had made himself. She died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in a London hospital on 10 October 1985. She provided in her will for the remaining originals and casts from her husband's workshop to be returned to Vienna.

Publications

Illustrated books for children, written by Bettina except where noted, include: * ''Show Me Yours: A Little Paintbook'' 1943 (London: Chatto & Windus) * ''Poo-Tsee, the Water-Tortoise'' 1943 (London: Chatto & Windus) * ''Carmello'' 1945 (London: Chatto & Windus) * ''Cocolo'' 1945 (London: Chatto & Windus) * ''Cocolo Comes to America'' 1949 (Harper) * ''Cocolo's Home'' 1950 (Harper) - "Elegant animal nonsense and a favorite animal character in a new Cocolo story." * ''Castle in the Sand'' 1951 (New York:

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

) - "... this story is permeated by a tired adult nostalgia for the super-imposed chivalry of innocent, pre-adolescent affection. As always, the author's illustrations in black and white are exquisite. Too precious for general." * ''A Horse for the Island'' 1952 (London: Hamish Hamilton) - "A gentle fable which is not without its charm- but special." * ''Piccolo'' 1954 (New York: Harper & Brothers) * ''The Swans of Ballycastle'' 1954 (New York: Ariel-Farrar, Straus & Young) * ''The Magic Christmas Tree'', written by Lee Kingman, 1956 (Harper) * ''Angelo and Rosaline'' 1957 (London:

William Collins, Sons William Collins, Sons (often referred to as Collins) was a Scottish printing and publishing company founded by a Presbyterian schoolmaster, William Collins, in Glasgow in 1819, in partnership with Charles Chalmers, the younger brother of Thomas ...

) * ''Pantaloni'' 1957 (New York: Harper & Brothers) - "The muted colors and superb draughtsmanship of illustrations depicting village life and Italian temperament are a joy. The story moves very naturally toward a happy ending..." * ''Trovato'' 1959 (New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy) * ''For the Leg of a Chicken'' 1960 (London: Collins) * ''Paolo and Panetto'' 1960 (London:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

) * ''Dolls'' 1962 (London: Oxford University Press) * ''Francesco and Francesca'' 1962 (London: Oxford University Press) * ''Of Uncles and Aunts'' 1963 (London: Oxford University Press) * ''Tal and the Magic Rarruget'', written by

Eva-Lis Wuorio Eva-Lis Wuorio (12 November 1918 – 1988 in Ruovesi) was a Finnish-born writer. She was born in Viipuri, Finland and her family emigrated to Canada, where she was educated. She later moved to the Channel Islands. She wrote principally for chil ...

, 1965 (Cleveland: The World Publishing) * ''The Goat Boy'' 1965 (London; Vienna: Oxford University Press) * ''Sardines and the Angel'' 1967 (London: Oxford University Press) * ''Neretto'' 1969 (London: Oxford University Press)

References

External links

Austrian Jewish women artists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrlich, Bettina 1903 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Austrian women artists 20th-century British painters University of Applied Arts Vienna alumni Artists from Vienna Writers from Vienna Austrian children's writers British children's writers Austrian children's book illustrators Jewish emigrants from Austria to the United Kingdom after the Anschluss Jewish women painters Jewish painters British children's book illustrators Austrian women painters Austrian women illustrators Austrian women children's writers