Edward Ardizzone | |
|---|---|
 Ardizzone in uniform byHenry Carr, 1944 | |
| Born | Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone (1900-10-16)16 October 1900 |
| Died | 8 November 1979(1979-11-08) (aged 79) Rodmersham Green, Kent, England |
| Pen name | Diz |
| Occupation | Artist, illustrator, writer |
| Nationality | British |
| Genre | Children's books |
| Notable works | Tim All Alone (1956)Stig of the Dump (1963) |
| Relatives | Christianna Brand (cousin) |
Edward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone,CBERA (16 October 1900 – 8 November 1979), who sometimes signed his work "DIZ", was a British painter, printmaker and war artist, and the author and illustrator of books, many of them for children.[1] ForTim All Alone (Oxford, 1956), which he wrote and illustrated, Ardizzone won the inauguralKate Greenaway Medal from theLibrary Association for the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject.[2] For the 50th anniversary of the Medal in 2005, the book was named one of the top ten winning titles, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for public election of an all-time favourite.[3]
Ardizzone's father, Auguste Ardizzone, was a naturalised Frenchman of Italian descent, who was born aPied-Noir inFrench Algeria, then a colony of France, and worked on overseas government service elsewhere in theFrench colonial empire. Ardizzone's mother, Margaret, was English. Her father, Edward Alexander Irving, was assistantcolonial secretary of the Straits Settlements, in what is now known asSingapore, as well as the Malaysian states ofPenang andMalacca. Edward Ardizzone was born in the port city ofHaiphong,Tonkin, in the north ofFrench Indo-China, a city now inVietnam, while his father was working for the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company.[4]
In 1905, Margaret Ardizzone returned to England with her three eldest children. They were brought up inSuffolk, largely by their maternal grandmother, while Margaret returned to join her husband in the Far East. The Ardizzone family lived in Corder Road,Ipswich, between 1905 and 1910, and then in Gainsborough Road from 1911 to 1912. Ardizzone was educated first atIpswich School and then, from 1912, atClayesmore School, a boarding school in Dorset. At Clayesmore, his interest in drawing was encouraged by an art teacher.[5]
Ardizzone left school in 1918 and twice tried to enlist in the British Army but was refused. After spending six months at a commerce college inBath, Ardizzone spent several years working as an office clerk in bothWarminster and London, where he began taking evening classes at theWestminster School of Art, which were taught byBernard Meninsky. In 1922, Ardizzone became a naturalised British citizen. While working as an office clerk, Ardizzone had spent his weekends and free time painting and in 1926, with financial support from his father, gave up his office job to concentrate on establishing himself as a professional, freelance artist.[4]
Ardizzone's first major commission was to illustrate an edition ofIn a Glass Darkly bySheridan Le Fanu in 1929. He also produced advertising material forJohnnie Walker whisky, and illustrations for bothPunch andThe Radio Times,[4] including the 1937 and 1948 Christmas covers of the latter. The first book by Ardizzone listed by theUS Library of Congress isThe Mediterranean: An Anthology (London:Cassell, 1935, OCLC 2891569), compiled by Paul Bloomfield, "decorated by Edward Ardizzone" with "each chapter preceded by illustrated half-title".[6] In 1936, he inaugurated his best-known work, the Tim series of books, featuring the maritime adventures of its eponymous young hero, which he both wrote and illustrated.Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain was published byOxford University Press in both London and New York that year.[7] In 1939, he illustrated the first of a series of fourMimff children's books byH.J.Kaesar.
By 1939 Ardizzone was regularly holding one-man exhibitions at the Bloomsbury Gallery and, later, the Leger Gallery. At this time the major theme of his paintings was life in London, with affectionate illustrations of the pubs and parks near his home inMaida Vale.[4] His style was naturalistic but subdued, featuring gentle lines and delicatewatercolours, with great attention to particular details.
In theSecond World War, after a short spell serving in an anti-aircraft unit, Ardizzone was assigned to theWar Office by theWar Artists' Advisory Committee and posted overseas as a full-time official war artist.[8] He first served with theBritish Expeditionary Force and depicted its retreat through France and Belgium before he was evacuated back to Britain fromBoulogne in May 1940.[9] In Britain, he recorded troops at their training camps and spent nights sketching in theLondon Underground, where tube tunnels were being used as air-raid shelters during theBlitz.[10][11] Ardizzone spent the early part of 1941 travelling around Scotland. In January 1942, he recorded the arrival of American troops inNorthern Ireland. In March of that year, he went to Cairo and joined theBritish First Army on its march toTunisia, and then joined theEighth Army. By July 1943, Ardizzone was inSicily, where he witnessed combat at close quarters, and unusually for him, painted the aftermath of the fighting.[9][12] He travelled on through Italy with the Eighth Army until April 1944, when he flew toAlgiers, from where he sailed back to Britain. In June 1944, he went to France during the Allied invasion, but by September 1944 was back in Italy. He again travelled widely there and witnessed the fall ofReggio Calabria and Naples. He spent the winter of 1944 in Italy before travelling to Germany for the final months of the War.[8] By the time Ardizzone returned to England in May 1945 he had completed almost 400 sketches and watercolours of the War, most of which, along with his wartime diaries, are held at theImperial War Museum.[9] His early experiences betweenArras and Boulogne are illustrated and described in his bookBaggage to the Enemy (London 1941), whileDiary of a War Artist, published in 1974, described his later experiences during the conflict.
After the War, Ardizzone resumed his freelance career and received commissions fromThe Strand Magazine for cover artwork, from theEaling film studios for promotional material and from theGuinness company for adverts. Ardizzone was commissioned to produce a watercolour portrait ofWinston Churchill and continued to write and illustrate books.[4] The most famousTim book is the inaugural Greenaway Medal-winner,Tim All Alone (Oxford, 1956).[2] The series continued until 1972 withTim's Last Voyage which was followed in 1977 byShip's Cook Ginger.
Besides writing and illustrating his own books, Ardizzone also illustrated books written by others, including some editions ofAnthony Trollope andH. E. Bates'sMy Uncle Silas. He illustrated theC. Day Lewis children's novel,The Otterbury Incident (1948). One of his happiest collaborations was that withEleanor Farjeon, especially onThe Little Bookroom (Oxford, 1955 collection). Ardizzone illustrated some novels by the American authorEleanor Estes, includingPinky Pye,The Witch Family,The Alley,Miranda the Great, andThe Tunnel of Hugsy Goode (1958 to 1972). In 1962, he illustrated an edition ofJ. M. Barrie'sPeter Pan, retold byEleanor Graham, andA Ring of Bells (1962),John Betjeman's abridged version for children of his autobiographical poemSummoned by Bells (1960).[13]
For illustratingTitus in Trouble, written byJames Reeves, Ardizzone was a commended runner-up for the 1959 Greenaway Medal.[14][a] Ardizzone is particularly noted for having not just illustrated the covers and contents of books, but inked in the title text and author's name in his own hand, giving the books a distinctive look on shelves. An example isClive King'sStig of the Dump from 1963. TheNurse Matilda series of children's books (1964–74) was written by his cousinChristianna Brand, who was seven years younger. Their shared grandmother had told the stories to both cousins and she had learned them from her father.
Early in the 1970s, Ardizzone illustrated a new edition of the 20-year-oldLittle books byGraham Greene:The Little Train,The Little Fire Engine,The Little Horse Bus, andThe Little Steamroller. He also illustrated a re-telling of theDon Quixote story for children by James Reeves and his illustrations forThe Land of Green Ginger byNoel Langley are regarded as classics in their own right.[13] His 1970 autobiography,The Young Ardizzone - an autobiographical fragment, was illustrated with his own drawings.
Ardizzone also illustrated severaltelegrams for the Post Office in the 1950s and 1960s, many of which are considered collector's items. He also held a number of teaching posts, working part-time as an instructor in graphic design atCamberwell School of Art and as a visiting tutor at theRoyal College of Art. In 1960 he retired from his teaching posts and began spending more time atRodmersham Green in Kent before moving there permanently in 1972. In 1929, Ardizzone married Catherine Josephine Berkley Anderson (1904-1992), and the couple had two sons and a daughter. Ardizzone died of aheart attack in 1979 at his home in Rodmersham Green. After Catherine's death in 1992, the British government accepted 64 of Ardizzone's sketchbooks in lieu of inheritance tax, and these are now held by theAshmolean Museum in Oxford.[4] TheBritish Library published an illustrated bibliography of his works in 2003. Ablue plaque unveiled in 2007 commemorates Ardizzone's home at 130Elgin Avenue in Maida Vale.[15]
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