Randolph Caldecott (; 22 March 1846 – 12 February 1886) was a British
artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...
and
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
, born in
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
. The
Caldecott Medal
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...
was named in his honour. He exercised his art chiefly in book illustrations. His abilities as an artist were promptly and generously recognised by the
Royal Academy
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 pur ...
. Caldecott greatly influenced illustration of children's books during the nineteenth century. Two books illustrated by him, priced at a
shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
each, were published every Christmas for eight years.
Caldecott also illustrated novels and accounts of foreign travel, made humorous drawings depicting hunting and fashionable life, drew cartoons and he made sketches of the
Houses of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...
inside and out, and exhibited sculptures and paintings in oil and watercolour in the
Royal Academy
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 pur ...
and galleries.
Early life
Caldecott was born at 150 Bridge Street (now No 16),
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
,
where his father, John Caldecott, was an accountant, twice married with thirteen children. Caldecott was his father's third child by his first wife, Mary Dinah Brookes. In 1848, the family moved to Challoner House, Crook Street, Chester, and in 1860 to 23 Richmond Place,
Boughton, a village just outside the city.
[
From his early childhood, Caldecott drew and modeled, mostly animals. His main education came with five years at the ]King's School, Chester
The King's School, Chester, is a British co-educational independent day school for children aged 4 to 18. It is one of the seven 'King's Schools' established (or re-endowed and renamed) by King Henry VIII in 1541 after the Dissolution of t ...
, a grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
then in the cathedral precinct in the city centre, which he left at the age of fifteen. In that same year, 1861, he first had a drawing published, a sketch of a disastrous fire at the Queens Railway Hotel in Chester, which appeared in the ''Illustrated London News
''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...
'', together with his account of the blaze.[
On leaving school, Caldecott went to work as a clerk at the offices of the Whitchurch & Ellesmere Bank in ]Whitchurch, Shropshire
Whitchurch is a market town in the north of Shropshire, England. It lies east of the Welsh border, 2 miles south of the Cheshire border, north of the county town of Shrewsbury, south of Chester, and east of Wrexham. At the 2011 Census, the ...
, and took lodgings at Wirswall, a village near the town. When he was out on errands, he was either walking or riding around the countryside, and many of his later illustrations incorporate buildings and scenery of Cheshire and that part of Shropshire.[
Caldecott's love of riding led him to take up ]fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...
, and his experiences in the hunting field and his love of the chase bore fruit over the years in a mass of drawings and sketches of hunting scenes, many of them humorous.[
]
Manchester
After six years at Whitchurch, Caldecott moved to the head office in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
of the Manchester & Salford Bank. He lodged variously in Aberdeen Street, Rusholme
Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, Fallo ...
Grove and at Bowdon. He took the opportunity to study at night school at the Manchester School of Art
Manchester School of Art in Manchester, England, was established in 1838 as the Manchester School of Design. It is the second oldest art school in the United Kingdom after the Royal College of Art which was founded the year before. It is now par ...
and practised continually, with success in local papers and some London publications. It was a habit of his at this time, which he maintained all his life, to decorate his letters, papers and documents of all descriptions with marginal sketches to illustrate the content or provide amusement. A number of his letters have been reprinted with their illustrations in ''Yours Pictorially'', a book edited by Michael Hutchings. In 1870, a painter friend in London, Thomas Armstrong, put Caldecott in touch with Henry Blackburn
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
*Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
, the editor of '' London Society'', who published a number of his drawings in several issues of the monthly magazine.
London
Encouraged by this evidence of his ability to support himself by his art, Caldecott decided to quit his job and move to London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
; this he did in 1872 at the age of 26. Within two years he had become a successful magazine illustrator working on commission. His work included individual sketches, illustrations of other articles and a series of illustrations of a holiday which he and Henry Blackburn took in the Harz Mountains
The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...
in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The latter became the first of a number of such series.
He remained in London for seven years, spending most of them in lodgings at 46 Great Russell Street
Great Russell Street is a street in Bloomsbury, London, best known for being the location of the British Museum. It runs between Tottenham Court Road (part of the A400 route) in the west, and Southampton Row (part of the A4200 route) in the east ...
just opposite the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, in the heart of Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
. While there he met and made friends (as he did very readily) with many artistic and literary people, among them Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...
, George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald d ...
(who was a fellow contributor to ''Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
''), John Everett Millais
Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...
and Frederic Leighton
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subjec ...
. His friendship with Frederic (later Lord) Leighton led to a commission to design peacock capitals for four columns in the Arab room at Leighton's rather exotic home, Leighton House
The Leighton House Museum is an art museum in the Holland Park area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London.
The building was the London home of painter Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (1830–1896), who commi ...
in Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
. (Walter Crane
Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and K ...
designed a tiled peacock frieze for the same room.)
In 1869 Caldecott exhibited a picture in the Royal Manchester Institute. He had a picture exhibited in the Royal Academy
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 pur ...
for the first time in 1876. He was also a watercolourist and was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI), initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London.
History
In 1831 the so ...
in 1882.
In 1877 Edmund Evans
Edmund Evans (23 February 1826 – 21 August 1905) was an English wood-engraver and colour printer during the Victorian era. He specialized in full-colour printing, a technique which, in part because of his work, became popular in the mid-19th c ...
, who was a leading colour printer using coloured woodblocks, lost the services of Walter Crane
Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and K ...
as his children's book illustrator and asked Caldecott for illustrations for two Christmas books. The results were '' The House that Jack Built'' and ''The Diverting History of John Gilpin
''The Diverting History of John Gilpin Shewing how he went Farther than he intended, and came safe Home again'' is a comic ballad by William Cowper written in 1782 in poetry, 1782. The ballad concerns a draper called John Gilpin who rides a Bolt ...
'', published in 1878. They were an immediate success; so much so that Caldecott produced two more each year for Evans until he died. Many of Evans’ original printing blocks survive and are held at St Bride Library
St Bride Library (formerly known as St Bride Printing Library and St Bride Typographical Library) is a library in London primarily devoted to printing, book arts, typography and graphic design. The library is housed in the St Bride Foundation I ...
in London. The stories and rhymes were all of Caldecott's choosing and in some cases were written or added to by himself. In another milieu Caldecott followed ''The Harz Mountains'' with illustrations for two books by 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 ...
, three for Juliana Ewing, another of Henry Blackburn's, one for Captain Frederick Marryat
Captain Frederick Marryat (10 July 1792 – 9 August 1848) was a Royal Navy officer, a novelist, and an acquaintance of Charles Dickens. He is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novel ...
and for other authors. Among well known admirers of his work were Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetism, Synthetist style that were d ...
and Van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inclu ...
.
Randolph continued to travel, partly for the sake of his health, and to make drawings of the people and surroundings of the places he visited; these drawings were accompanied by humorous and witty captions and narrative.
Marriage
In 1879 he moved to ''Wybornes'', a house near Kemsing
Kemsing is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The parish lies on the scarp face of the North Downs, 20 miles south east of Central London, north east of Sevenoaks. Also in the parish are the hamlets of Hea ...
in Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. It is there that he became engaged to Marian Brind, who lived at Chelsfield
Chelsfield is an area in south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley and the historic county of Kent. It lies south of Goddington, west of Well Hill, north of Pratt's Bottom and east of Green Street Green. The area is ...
about seven miles away. They were married on 18 March 1880 and lived at ''Wybornes'' for the next two years. There were no children of the marriage. In the autumn of 1882 the Caldecotts left Kent and bought a house, ''Broomfield'', at Frensham
Frensham is a village in Surrey, England, next to the A287 road, WSW of Guildford, the county town. Frensham lies on the right bank of the River Wey (south branch), only navigable to canoes, shortly before its convergence with the north branc ...
in Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
; they also rented No 24 Holland Street, Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
. By 1884, sales of Caldecott's ''Nursery Rhymes'' had reached 867,000 copies (of twelve books) and he was internationally famous.
Death
Caldecott's health was generally poor and he suffered much from gastritis and a heart condition going back to an illness in his childhood. It was his health among other things which prompted his many winter trips to the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
and other warm climates. It was on such a tour in the United States of America in 1886 that he was taken ill again and died. He and Marian had sailed to New York and travelled to Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
in an unusually cold February; Randolph was taken ill and died at St. Augustine. He was not quite 40 years old. A headstone marks his grave in the cemetery there.
Soon after his early death, his many friends contributed to a memorial, which was designed by Sir Alfred Gilbert
Sir Alfred Gilbert (12 August 18544 November 1934) was an English sculptor. He was born in London and studied sculpture under Joseph Boehm, Matthew Noble, Édouard Lantéri and Pierre-Jules Cavelier. His first work of importance was ''The Kis ...
. It was placed in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
, London. There is also a memorial to him in Chester Cathedral
Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sain ...
.
Appreciation
Gleeson White
Joseph William Gleeson White (1851–1898), often known as Gleeson White, was an English writer on art.
Life
He was born in Christchurch, Dorset and educated at Christ Church School and afterward became a member of the Art Workers Guild. ...
wrote of Caldecott:
G. K. Chesterton wrote in a Caldecott picture book that he presented to a young friend:
:This is the sort of book we like
: (For you and I are very small),
:With pictures stuck in anyhow,
: And hardly any words at all.
: . . .
:You will not understand a word
: Of all the words, including mine;
:Never you trouble; you can see,
: And all directness is divine—
:Stand up and keep your childishness:
: Read all the pedants’ screeds and strictures;
:But don’t believe in anything
: That can’t be told in coloured pictures.
For Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book ''Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 200 ...
"Caldecott's work heralds the beginning of the modern picture book. He devised an ingenious juxtaposition of picture and word, a counterpoint that never happened before. Words are left out—but the picture says it. Pictures are left out—but the word says it." Sendak also appreciated the subtle darkness of Caldecott's work: "You can't say it's a tragedy, but something hurts. Like a shadow passing quickly over. It is this which gives a Caldecott book—however frothy the verses and pictures—its unexpected depth."
Gallery of images from Caldecott's toy books
File:Babes in the Wood - cover - illustrated by Randolph Caldecott - Project Gutenberg eText 19361.jpg, Cover of ''Babes in the Wood
Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents ent ...
''
File:The lasses held the stakes - illustration by Randolph Caldecott - Project Gutenberg eText 18341.jpg, "The lasses held the stakes" – from ''Come Lasses and Lads''
File:Randolph Caldecott collection-page 0092 cropped balanced.jpg, "In 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 ...
there lived a man/Of whom the world might say/That still a godly race he ran" – illustration from Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem ''The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his pl ...
's ''An Elegy of the Death of a Mad Dog''
File:Hey.diddle.diddle.jpeg, "The dish ran away with the spoon" – this image shows movement characteristic of Caldecott's illustrations
Bibliography
; Caldecott's 16 picture books
* ''The House that Jack Built'' (1878)
* ''The Diverting History of John Gilpin
''The Diverting History of John Gilpin Shewing how he went Farther than he intended, and came safe Home again'' is a comic ballad by William Cowper written in 1782 in poetry, 1782. The ballad concerns a draper called John Gilpin who rides a Bolt ...
'' (1878)
* '' Elegy on a Mad Dog'' (1879)
* ''The Babes in the Wood
''The Babes in the Wood'' is a 2002 novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell. It is the 19th entry in the popular Inspector Wexford series, and is set, as usual, in Kingsmarkham. In 2003, it was selected by ''The New York Times
''Th ...
'' (1879)
* '' The Three Jovial Huntsmen'' (1880)
* ''Sing a Song of Sixpence
"Sing a Song of Sixpence" is an English nursery rhyme, perhaps originating in the 18th century. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 13191. The sixpence in the rhyme is a British coin that was first minted in 1551.
Origins
The r ...
'' (1880)
* '' The Queen of Hearts'' (1881)
* ''The Farmer's Boy'' (1881)
* '' The Milk-Maid'' (1882)
* '' Hey-Diddle-Diddle and Baby Bunting'' (1882)
* '' The Fox Jumps Over the Parson's Gate'' (1883)
* '' A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go'' (1883)
* '' Come, Lasses, and Lads'' (1884)
* '' Ride A-Cock Horse to Branbury Cross & A Farmer went Trotting Upon his Grey Mare'' (1884)
* '' Mrs. Mary Blaze'' (1885)
* '' The Great Panjandrum Himself'' (1885)
* ''Complete Collection of Pictures and Songs'' (1887) From the Collections at the Library of Congress
See also
* Caldecott Community
The Caldecott Foundation, formerly known as the Caldecott Community, is a UK charity which provides therapeutic care and education for disadvantaged and vulnerable children. It has been based in the Borough of Ashford in Kent since 1947 and oper ...
, a pioneering school for working class and vulnerable children founded in 1911 and named after Randolph Caldecott
References
Sources and further reading
* Alderson, Brian. ''Sing a Song for Sixpence: The English Picture Book Tradition and Randolph Caldecott'' (1987)
* Blackburn, Henry.
Randolph Caldecott: A Memoir of his Early Art Career
'. London: Low, Marston, Searle & Livingtston. 1890.
* Engen, Rodney K. ''Randolph Caldecott: Lord of the Nursery'' (London: Bloomsbury Pub., 1988).
* Ray, Gorden Norton. ''The Illustrator and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914''. Courier Dover. 1991.
* Sendak, Maurice. ''Caldecott & Co.: Notes on Books and Pictures'' (1988)
*
External links
(ArtCyclopedia)
; Online collections
*
*
*
*
Works by Randolph Caldecott
at the University of Florida's "Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature" (color illustrated scanned books).
Randolph Caldecott in ''Manchester Art Gallery''
; Miscellaneous
Randolph Caldecott Society of America
Caldecott One-Name Study
Fair Use: Randolph Caldecott’s "Hey Diddle Diddle"
(ALL ARTS)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldecott, Randolph
1846 births
1886 deaths
19th-century English painters
British draughtsmen
English children's book illustrators
English illustrators
English male painters
English watercolourists
People educated at The King's School, Chester
People from Chester
19th-century English male artists