Angela Barrett (born 1955) is a British artist and illustrator. She has illustrated

picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

, children's books and novels, including various

fairytales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

Life and career

Barrett grew up sewing and drawing. She attended Thurrock Technical College and worked in retail display. She then attended Maidstone art school and later the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

. Barrett's first illustrated book was ''The King, the Cat and the Fiddle'', published in 1983 and written by

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

and Christopher Hope. In 2013,

stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

depicting novels by Jane Austen were illustrated by Barrett and released by Royal Mail for the 200th anniversary of the novel '' Pride and Prejudice''.

Style

Barrett's work is mainly created using

watercolor 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 ...

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache ...

, colored pencils, and ink. She is known for her

period piece A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

s and the research she applies to her work. For the 1998 book ''Joan of Arc'', she researched 15th-century art and

illuminated manuscripts An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

to create a

visual style In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories" or "...any distinctive, and therefore recognizable, way in which an act is performed or an artifact made or ought to be performed a ...

for the story, using motifs inspired by

medieval French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligi ...

fabrics. She uses photographs as reference for her compositions. Barrett works in a realistic style with distorted figures, proportions and perspectives. Joanna Carey for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' stated Barrett's illustrations have "a stillness and a quiet atmospheric intensity..." Valerie Coghlan stated in ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature'' that Barrett's "slightly elongated figures and faces and distorted perspective are frequently used to heighten tension and impart a sense of mystery."

Illustrated works

*''The King, the Cat and the Fiddle'' (1983), by

and Christopher Hope *''The Wild Swans'' (c. 1984) by Hans Christian Andersen *The Dragon wore Pink (1985) by Christopher Hope *''Through the Kitchen Window'' (c. 1986) by

Susan Hill Dame Susan Hill, Lady Wells, (born 5 February 1942) is an English author of fiction and non-fiction works. Her novels include ''The Woman in Black'', '' The Mist in the Mirror'', and '' I'm the King of the Castle'', for which she received t ...

*''The Snow Queen'' (1988) by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Naomi Lewis *''Proud Knight, Fair Lady: The Twelve Lays of Marie de France'' (1989), translated by Naomi Lewis *''The Hidden House'' (1990) *''Snow White'' (1991), retelling by Josephine Poole *''Beware, Beware'' (1993), by Susan Hill *''The Ice Palace'' (1994), by Angela McAllister *''The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet'' (1995) by

Geraldine McCaughrean Geraldine McCaughrean ( ; born 6 June 1951) is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including ''Peter Pan in Scarlet'' (2004), the official sequel to ''Peter Pan'' commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, t ...

*''The Emperor's New Clothes'' (1997), by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Naomi Lewis *''Joan of Arc'' (1998) by Josephine Poole *''Rocking Horse Land and Other Classic Tales of Dolls and Toys'' (2000), by Hans Christian Andersen, compiled by Naomi Lewis *''Through the Tempests Dark and Wild: a Story of Mary Shelley, Creator of Frankenstein'' (2003) by Sharon Darrow *''Anne Frank'' (2005) by Josephine Poole *''Beauty and the Beast'' (2006), retelling by Max Eilenberg *''The Snow Goose'' (2007 edition), by

Paul Gallico Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictu ...

*''Sylvie and the Songman'' (2009) by Tim Binding *''The Night Fairy'' (2010) by

Laura Amy Schlitz Laura Amy Schlitz is an American author of children's literature. She is a librarian and storyteller at the Park School of Baltimore in Brooklandville, Maryland. She received the 2008 Newbery Medal for her children's book entitled '' Good Mast ...

*''The Most Wonderful Thing in the World?'' (2015), by

Vivian French Vivian June Isoult French (born 1945) is a British writer of picture book texts, novels, plays, and non-fiction for children and young adults. She has written more than 250 books – including the picture book ''Oliver's Vegetables'' (1995), The ...

*''The Restless Girls'' (2019) by Jessie Burton

Awards and honors

*1991 W. H. Smith Illustration Award for ''The Hidden House'' by Martin Waddell *1993 Shortlist for the Kate Greenaway Medal for ''Beware, Beware!'' by Susan Hill *1998

Nestlé Smarties Book Prize The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, and Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for a time, was a set of annual awards for British children's books that ran from 1985 to 2007. It was administered by BookTrust, an independent charity that promotes books and ...

for ''Can It Be True?''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Angela 1955 births Living people 20th-century British women artists 21st-century British women artists British illustrators British women illustrators British children's book illustrators Alumni of the Royal College of Art Watercolorists Women watercolorists