The Work of E. H. Shepard

Abstract

The Work of E. H. Shepard Louisa Smith Knox, Rawle , ed. The Work of E. H. Shepard. New York: Schocken Books, 1980. Pps. 256; $27.50. One of the dangers of being a children's book illustrator is that, like an actor in a situation comedy series, one becomes known only by the illustrations for one particular book or author. Names such as John Tenniel, W. W. Denslow, Wesley Dennis come quickly to mind. The other danger is, of course, not being known at all. Illustrators comparatively seldom receive the critical attention that authors do. E. H. Shepard, however, belongs to the first category. As the editor/author of The Work of E. H. Shepard, Rawle Knox points out, the American fetish for Pooh books in the sixties thrust Shepard into the spotlight complete with dolls, coloring books and soap products. Indeed even a line of children's clothing appeared. The daughter of the President of the United States paid him a visit. It was an unusual position for a rather retiring, inconspicuous artist. Shepard is so closely associated with the Pooh books and A. A. Milne that the reader of this semi-biographical collection of pieces on him must constantly remind him/herself that the book is about Shepard. A portrait of Graham Shepard, Shepard's son, so closely resembles the sweet beauty of Christopher Robin that one immediately thinks it is he rather than Graham. Once beyond this mind-set, the reader is in for a view of an artist, his work, and perhaps even more important, a perspective on the times covering two World Wars and the position of the black-and-white illustrator in that time. Classifying the book is difficult. Although it presents chronologically the facts of Shepard's life, there are also chapters on his long association with Punch Magazine by H. F. Ellis, one on Shepard's "line" which compares his style to other artists rather indiscriminately, and an odd chapter on the "Development of the Line" by Penelope Fitzgerald, Knox's sister, which contains disconcerting speculative observations such as the comment about Shepard's distraction when he was looking for models for David Copperfield illustrations. "Most distracting still, Kipper (name used throughout the book for Shepard) saw in a teashop a little girl with "steady eyes' and brown hair and wasted time thinking how if only Florence and he were married, their daughter might be like that" (p. 18). Knox is the step-grandson of Shepard and thus had access to family letters and sketches. By his own admission, Shepard never threw anything away so the correspondence is a rich source of information in the book and contributes more than is specifically acknowledged. There is the tantalizing insight into the partnership between Milne and Shepard, a rather distant and cool one by the account given in this book. The assumption is proposed that Milne didn't really care for or understand children whereas Shepard did. Discussing a visit to Cotchford Farm by the Shepards, Knox suggests that poor little [End Page 41] Christopher Milne had never experienced adults who played with him and that he relished the attention Graham, ten years his senior, paid him. The stuffed animals, says Knox, Shepard appropriated and "made them his own creations, largely because he could see into the mind of a child, any child, better than the father (Milne) in this case, could see into the mind of his own." (p. 112) The reader is treated to over 300 illustrations and photographs, more arresting than the text. A section beginning on p. 158 and continuing through p. 177 contains only illustrations which Shepard drew for The Wind in the Willows, for example. There is an equally lengthy pictorial section on the Milne books, some showing both the rough sketches and the completed pictures. There are ample photographs of family members, including Shepard himself, bearing close resemblance to the children in his drawings. Shepard was small for his age and his fiancee, even in his twenties, introduced him as "little Shepard." Light-boned, fair children predominated in his drawings. Shepard preferred drawing from models and spent some time locating people and places for his illustrations. Black...