Maria Louise Kirk (21 June 1860 – 21 June 1938), usually credited as M. L. Kirk or Maria L. Kirk, was an American painter and illustrator of more than fifty books, most of them for children. Her notable work includes illustrations for a US edition of ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...

'' in 1904, for the first edition of ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels and ...

'', and for several books by

L. M. Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with ''Anne of Green Gables''. She ...

and

Johanna Spyri Johanna Louise Spyri (; ; 12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901) was a Swiss author of novels, notably children's stories, and is best known for her book ''Heidi''. Born in Hirzel, a rural area in the canton of Canton of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, ...

Life and work

Born in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

, Kirk studied art in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

at the School of Design for Women and then at the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.M. L. Kirk Biography
pookpress.co.uk; accessed October 14, 2021 In the 1890s, she went on to study at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

Robert Trexler, "Five early illustrators of ''At the Back of the North Wind''" in Roderick McGillis, John Pennington (eds.), ''At the Back of the North Wind'' (Buffalo, New York: Broadview Press, 2011),
Appendix E, p. 384
/ref> and in 1894 won the

Mary Smith Prize The Mary Smith Prize (defunct) was a prestigious art prize awarded to women artists by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. It recognized the best work by a Philadelphia woman artist at PAFA's annual exhibition — one that showed "the mo ...

of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, for a portrait. During her career, Kirk illustrated more than fifty books, including an American edition of ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' in 1904. Her style is individual, little influenced by the

Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

movements. Although she was a talented artist, with so much published work, little is known about Kirk's life. She died on her 78th birthday in 1938. In 2009, the

Folio Society The Folio Society is a London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it operates as an employee ownership trust since 2021. It produces illustrated hardback editions of classic fict ...

of London used Kirk’s illustrations for its new edition of ''

At the Back of the North Wind ''At the Back of the North Wind'' is a children's book written by Scottish author George MacDonald. It was serialized in the children's magazine ''Good Words for the Young'' beginning in 1868 and was published in book form in 1871. It is a fant ...

Reception

A review of ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1904) in ''The Advance'' magazine said of it "Fifty-seven illustrations by M. L. Kirk and

John Tenniel Sir John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914)Johnson, Lewis (2003), "Tenniel, John", ''Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online'', Oxford University Press. Web. Retrieved 12 December 2016. was an English illustrator, graphic humorist and pol ...

will keep the small reader at fever heat."

List of books illustrated

Kate Upson Clark Catherine Pickens Upson Clark (February 22, 1851 – February 18, 1935) was an American writer. She wrote articles for ''Godey's Lady's Book'', ''Atlantic Monthly'', ''Christian Herald'', and ''Harper's Magazine''. She was an editor of the ''Springf ...

, ''That Mary Ann: the Story of a Country Summer'' (Boston: D. Lothrop Co., 1893) *Theodora R. Jenness, ''Piokee and Her People'' (Boston: D. Lothrop Co., 1894) * "Pansy", ''Pansy's Sunday Book: For afternoon readers :gems of literature and art, with numerous illustrations'' (Boston: Lothrop Publishing Co., 1896) *

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

, ''

'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1904) *

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll. I ...

, ''

'' (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1904) *

Ouida Ouida (; 1 January 1839 – 25 January 1908) was the pseudonym of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé (although she preferred to be known as Marie Louise de la Ramée). During her career, Ouida wrote more than 40 novels, as well as sh ...

, '' A Dog of Flanders, the Nürnberg Stove, and Other Stories'' (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1909) * George Daulton, ''The Helter Skelters'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1909) *

Adelheid Wette Adelheid Catharina Maria Humperdinck Wette (4 September 1858 – 9 August 1916) was a German author, composer, and folklorist who is best remembered today as the librettist of her brother Engelbert Humperdinck's opera ''Hansel and Gretel''. Life ...

, translated Norreys J. O’Conor, ''Hänsel and Gretel: a fairy opera adapted from the libretto'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1909) *

Jean Ingelow Jean Ingelow (17 March 1820 – 20 July 1897) was an English poet and novelist, who gained sudden fame in 1863. She also wrote several stories for children. Early life Born in Boston, Lincolnshire on 17 March 1820, Jean Ingelow was the daughter ...

, ''Mopsa the Fairy'' (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1910) *''Favorite Rhymes of Mother Goose'' (New York: Cupples & Leon, 1910) *Winston Stokes, ''The Story of Hiawatha, Adapted from Longfellow by Winston Stokes'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1910) *

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

, ''Tales from Hans Andersen'' (Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1911) *

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (published in 1885–1886), '' A Little ...

, ''

'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1911) *

Fergus Hume Ferguson Wright Hume (8 July 1859 – 12 July 1932), known as Fergus Hume, was a prolific English novelist, known for his detective fiction, thrillers and mysteries. Early life Hume was born in Powick, Worcestershire, England, the second ...

, ''Chronicles of Fairyland'' (Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1911) *Sara Tawney Lefferts, ed., ''Land of Play: Verses, Rhymes and Stories'' (Cupples & Leon Co., 1911) *''All Shakespeare's Tales: Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb, and Tales from Shakespeare by Winston Stokes'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1911) * Inez N. McFee, ''The Story of Idylls of the King, adapted from Tennyson, by Inez N. McFee, with the original poem'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1912) * Clayton Edwards, ''The Story of Evangeline, Adapted from Longfellow. With the Original Poem'' (New York: The Hampton Publishing Co., 1913) * Mrs Molesworth, ''The Cuckoo Clock'' (J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1914) *

F. J. Harvey Darton Frederick Joseph Harvey Darton (22 September 1878 – 26 July 1936) was an author, publisher, and historian of children's literature. He was best known for his pioneering works in ''The Story of English Children's Books in England: Five Centuries ...

, ''The Story of the Canterbury Pilgrims Retold from Chaucer and Others'' (J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1914) *George MacDonald, ''The Princess and Curdie'' (1914) *

, ''Heidi'' (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1915) * Emma C. Dowd, ''DOODLES the Sunshine Boy'' (

Grosset & Dunlap Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. Today, through the Penguin Gro ...

, 1915) *

Lucy Maud Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with '' Anne of Green Gables''. She ...

, ''

Anne's House of Dreams ''Anne's House of Dreams'' is a novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was first published in 1917 by McClelland, Goodchild and Stewart. The novel is from a series of books written primarily for girls and young women, about a girl na ...

'' (Toronto: McClelland, Goodchild, & Stewart, 1917)Susan-Ann Cooper, Aïda Hudson, ''Windows and Words: A Look at Canadian Children's Literature in English'' (Canadian Children's Literature Symposium, 2018), p. 218 * Stella George Stern Perry, ''The Angel of Christmas: a vision of to-day'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1917) *

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 ...

, '' The Water Babies'' (J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1918) * Miss Mulock, ''The Adventures of a Brownie'' (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1918) *Emma C. Dowd, ''Polly and the Princess'' (Boston:

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, 1917) * Lucy Maud Montgomery, ''

Rainbow Valley ''Rainbow Valley'' (1919) is the seventh book in the chronology of the ''Anne of Green Gables'' series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, although it was the fifth book published. While Anne Shirley was the main protagonist of the previous books, this no ...

'' (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1919; New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1919) *

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

, ''

A Child's Garden of Verses ''A Child's Garden of Verses'' is an 1885 volume of 64 poems for children by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It has been reprinted many times, often in illustrated versions, and is considered to be one of the most influential child ...

'' (Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1919) *

Carlo Collodi Carlo Lorenzini (24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi (), was an Italian author, humourist, and journalist, widely known for his fairy tale novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio''. Early life Col ...

, ''Pinocchio: The Story of a Puppet'' (Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1919) *Johanna Spyri, ''Cornelli'' (Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1920) *

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

, ''The King of the Golden River, and Dame Wiggins of Lee and her seven wonderful cats'' (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1921) *Lucy Maud Montgomery, ''

Rilla of Ingleside ''Rilla of Ingleside'' (1921) is the eighth of nine books in the ''Anne of Green Gables'' series by Lucy Maud Montgomery, but was the sixth "Anne" novel in publication order. This book draws the focus back onto a single character, Anne and Gilbert ...

'' (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1921) *Johanna Spyri, ''Mäzli : a story of the Swiss valleys'' (New York, 1921) * Johanna Spyri, ''Vinzi: a Story of the Swiss Alps'' (J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1923) * Lucy Maud Montgomery, ''

Emily of New Moon ''Emily of New Moon'' is the first in a series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery about an orphan girl growing up on Prince Edward Island. Montgomery is also the author of ''Anne of Green Gables'' series. It was first published in 1923. Plot sum ...

'' (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1923; New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1923) *Johanna Spyri, ''Dora'' (Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1924) * Lucy Maud Montgomery, ''

Emily Climbs ''Emily Climbs'' is the second in a series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was first published in 1925. While the legal battle with Montgomery's publishing company (L.C. Page) continued, Montgomery's husband Ewan MacDonald continued to suff ...

'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1925) * Lucy Maud Montgomery, ''

Emily's Quest ''Emily's Quest'' is a novel and the last of the ''Emily'' trilogy by Lucy Maud Montgomery. After finishing '' Emily Climbs'', Montgomery suspended writing ''Emily's Quest'' and published '' The Blue Castle''; she resumed writing and published in ...

'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1927) * Johanna Spyri, ''Moni, the Goat Boy'' (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1927) *A. C. Darby, ''Skip-come-a-Lou'' (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1928) * George MacDonald, ''At the Back of the North Wind'', illustrated by Maria L. Kirk (London: Folio Society, 2009)

Other works illustrated

*''

Wide Awake Wide Awake or Wideawake may refer to: Places *Wide Awake, South Carolina, US *Prestonville, Kentucky, US, formerly Wideawake * Wideawake Airfield or RAF Ascension Island, a British military base Books and publications * ''Wide Awake'' (magazine), ...

'', Volume 36, Issue 5 (Boston, April 1893)''Wide Awake'', Vol. 36, Issue 5 (1893)
p. 385
/ref>

Gallery

File:Houghton AC85 B9345 911s - Secret Garden, 1911 - cover.jpg, Cover of American edition of ''

'' File:Secret-Garden-344.jpg, from ''The Secret Garden'' File:Secret-Garden-251.jpg, from ''The Secret Garden'' File:The Princess and Curdie (1908) (14764128072).jpg, "So he set her on Lina's back" from ''

The Princess and Curdie ''The Princess and Curdie'' is a children's classic fantasy novel by George MacDonald from late 1883. The book is the sequel to ''The Princess and the Goblin''. The adventure continues with Princess Irene and Curdie a year or two older. They mus ...

'' File:Pinocchio (1916) (14752832765).jpg, from

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

File:FROM THE FULL MOON FELL NOKOMIS - from The Story of Hiawatha, Adapted from Longfellow by Winston Stokes and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Illustrator M. L. Kirk - 1910.jpg, from ''The Story of Hiawatha'' File:HURLED THE PINE-CONES DOWN UPON HIM - from The Story of Hiawatha, Adapted from Longfellow by Winston Stokes and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Illustrator M. L. Kirk - 1910.jpg, from ''The Story of Hiawatha'' File:The princess and Curdie (1908) (14741448046).jpg, from ''

Notes

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Maria Louise 1860 births 1938 deaths 20th-century American women artists American women illustrators Artists from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni

Life and work

Reception

List of books illustrated

Other works illustrated

Gallery

Notes

External links