Famous British Illustrators

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 1 
Christopher Tolkien
(Editor, Illustrator, Academic and the Son of Author J. R. R. Tolkien)
Christopher Tolkien
6
Birthdate: November 21, 1924
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Leeds, United Kingdom
Died: January 16, 2020

Christopher Tolkien was a French and English academic editor. The son of legendary author J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher edited much of his father's work, which was published after his father's demise. Christopher Tolkien is also credited with drawing the original maps in, The Lord of the Rings, one of his father's highly acclaimed novels.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti
4
Birthdate: May 12, 1828
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: London, United Kingdom
Died: April 9, 1882

Known for founding the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a legendary poet and painter of the 19th century. His illustrations also adorned the books of his poet sister Christina Rossetti. Known for volumes such as The House of Life, he also influenced the Aesthetic movement.

 3 
Lucian Freud
(British Painter Who was One of the Foremost 20th-Century English Portraitists)
Lucian Freud
4
Birthdate: December 8, 1922
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: July 20, 2011

The son of architect L. Freud and the grandson of legendary psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, painter Lucian Freud was born in Berlin but later moved to London to flee Nazism. He showed an inclination toward surrealism initially but later drifted to realism. Cedric Morris remains one of his notable works.

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 4 
Aubrey Beardsley
(Illustrator)
Aubrey Beardsley
4
Birthdate: August 21, 1872
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Brighton, England
Died: March 16, 1898

Aubrey Beardsley was an English illustrator and author, whose works emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. A leading figure in the aesthetic movement, he was deeply influenced by black ink drawings. He attended classes at the Westminster School of Art before beginning his career as an artist. He was considered an eccentric person.  

 5 
Judith Kerr
(Writer and illustrator whose books sold more than 10 million copies around the world)
Judith Kerr
3
Birthdate: June 14, 1923
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: May 22, 2019
 6 
Arthur Rackham
(Former Illustrator best-known works include the illustrations for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm)
Arthur Rackham
3
Birthdate: September 19, 1867
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Vauxhall, London, England, United Kingdom
Died: September 6, 1939
 7 
John Tenniel
(Illustrator)
John Tenniel
4
Birthdate: February 28, 1820
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Bayswater, London, England
Died: February 25, 1914
 8 
W. S. Gilbert
(Dramatist)
W. S. Gilbert
4
Birthdate: November 18, 1836
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Southampton Street, London, England
Died: May 29, 1911
 9 
Arthur Ransome
(Author)
Arthur Ransome
3
Birthdate: January 18, 1884
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Leeds, England
Died: June 3, 1967
 10 
Alan Lee
(Illustrator)
Alan Lee
3
Birthdate: August 20, 1947
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Middlesex, England
 11 
Roger Hargreaves
(Author)
Roger Hargreaves
3
Birthdate: May 9, 1935
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, England
Died: September 11, 1988
 12 
George Cruikshank
(Caricaturist)
George Cruikshank
3
Birthdate: September 27, 1792
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: London, England
Died: February 1, 1878
 13 
Thomas Rowlandson
(Artist & Caricaturist of the Georgian Era)
Thomas Rowlandson
3
Birthdate: July 13, 1757
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: London, England
Died: April 21, 1827
 14 
John Leech
(Illustrator)
John Leech
3
Birthdate: August 29, 1817
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: London, England
Died: October 29, 1864
 15 
M.M. Kaye
(Writer)
M.M. Kaye
3
Birthdate: August 21, 1908
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Shimla, India
Died: January 29, 2004
 16 
Beryl Cook
(Artist)
Beryl Cook
3
Birthdate: September 10, 1926
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Egham, Surrey, England
Died: May 28, 2008
 17 
Eric Hill
(Author)
Eric Hill
2
Birthdate: September 7, 1927
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Holloway, London, England
Died: June 6, 2014
 18 
Randolph Caldecott
(Artist)
Randolph Caldecott
3
Birthdate: March 22, 1846
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Chester, England
Died: February 12, 1886
 19 
Hablot Knight Browne
(Artist)
Hablot Knight Browne
2
Birthdate: July 12, 1815
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Lambeth, England
Died: July 8, 1882
 20 
John Sell Cotman
(British painter)
John Sell Cotman
2
Birthdate: May 16, 1782
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Norwich, England
Died: May 24, 1842
 21 
Laurence Housman
(Playwright)
Laurence Housman
2
Birthdate: July 18, 1865
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Bromsgrove, England
Died: February 20, 1959
 22 
Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo
(Architect)
Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo
2
Birthdate: December 12, 1851
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London, England
Died: March 15, 1942
 23 
Kathleen Hale
(Illustrator)
Kathleen Hale
2
Birthdate: May 24, 1898
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died: January 26, 2000
 24 
Frank Leslie
(Illustrator and journalist)
Frank Leslie
1
Birthdate: March 29, 1821
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Ipswich, England
Died: January 10, 1880
 25 
John Gilbert
(Painter)
John Gilbert
2
Birthdate: July 21, 1817
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: London, England
Died: October 5, 1897
 26 
John Callcott Horsley
(Painter)
John Callcott Horsley
1
Birthdate: January 29, 1817
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: London, England
Died: October 18, 1903
 27 
William-Henry Ireland
(Poet)
William-Henry Ireland
1
Birthdate: August 2, 1775
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: London, England
Died: April 17, 1835
 28 
Thomas Stothard
(Painter)
Thomas Stothard
1
Birthdate: August 17, 1755
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: London, England
Died: April 27, 1834
 29 
Charles Tomlinson
(Poet)
Charles Tomlinson
1
Birthdate: January 8, 1927
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Stoke-on-Trent, England
Died: August 22, 2015
 30 
Joseph Highmore
(Illustrator)
Joseph Highmore
1
Birthdate: June 13, 1692
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: London, England
Died: March 3, 1780
 31 
Harry Furniss
(Illustrator)
Harry Furniss
1
Birthdate: March 26, 1854
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Wexford, Ireland
Died: January 14, 1925
 32 
Theyre Lee-Elliott
(Artist)
Theyre Lee-Elliott
1
Birthdate: May 28, 1903
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Lewes, England
Died: December 24, 1988
 33 
Charles Keene
(Artist)
Charles Keene
1
Birthdate: August 10, 1823
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Hornsey, England
Died: January 4, 1891
 34 
Walter Goetz
(Artist)
Walter Goetz
0
Birthdate: November 24, 1911
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Germany
Died: September 13, 1995