Amy Millicent Sowerby (1878–1967) was an English painter and illustrator, known for her illustrations of classic children's stories such as ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'', her postcards featuring children, nursery rhymes, and Shakespeare scenes, and children's books created with her sister

Githa Sowerby Katherine Githa Sowerby (6 October 1876 – 30 June 1970), also known under her pen name K. G. Sowerby, was an English playwright, children's writer, and member of the Fabian Society. A feminist, she was well-known during the early twentieth cen ...

. Sowerby was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, England in 1878 to John G. Sowerby, artist and grandson of naturalist

James Sowerby James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as ''A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' or ''English Botany'', include his detailed and app ...

, and Amy Margaret Sowerby (''née'' Hewison). Sowerby, who went by Millicent, was the fourth in a family of six children, including sisters Helen and Katherine Githa and brother Lewis Richard Sowerby (chemical engineer). The family eventually settled in

Sutton Courtenay Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon-on-Thames and northwest of Didcot. Historically part of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire since the 1974 boundary changes. The 201 ...

. Millicent took some art classes in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

but was largely self-taught. She initially studied watercolors and landscape painting, before becoming influenced by the work of artists such as

Thomas Crane Thomas Crane (1808–1859) was an English artist and portrait painter. Life Crane was born at Chester in 1808 to Thomas Crane, a bookseller. The young Thomas was in a family of six sisters and three sons. In 1824, having shown early a taste ...

and

Kate Greenaway Catherine Greenaway (17 March 18466 November 1901) was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from the Finsbury School of ...

and the Arts and Crafts movement, and pursuing postcard and children's illustration as well as landscapes in oil and watercolours. Her postcard series "Postcards for the Little Ones" was quite popular, consistently selling thousands of copies. Sowerby was among the earliest women to illustrate Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland'', originally published in 1865. In 1907, the book entered the public domain in the United Kingdom, and that year at least eight new editions were published, with Sowerby's being the first of the new lot to appear. A collective review in '' The Academy'' of the 1907 editions – while regarding her rendition of the mad-hatter's tea party her best illustration, and Father William replying to his son her best use of color – opined "Sowerby attempts work rather too difficult for her, and she has not much imagination". Her artwork in ''Childhood'', written by her sister Githa, however, was regarded as "much better" than her work in ''Alice'': "The bistre drawings have a charming effect, and owerbyhas a pretty fancy." Her illustrations of Robert Louis Stevenson's ''A Child's Garden of Verses'' were received as "characteristically excellent", and a 1911 review of three books produced with Githa proclaimed "Millicent Sowerby is Kate Greenaway come to life again." Sowerby remained unmarried, and continued to paint into her 80s. She died in 1967 at the age of 89.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sowerby, Millicent 1878 births 1967 deaths 20th-century English women artists 20th-century English painters English illustrators Women watercolorists English watercolourists English women painters British children's book illustrators People from Gateshead Postcard artists

See also

References

External links