A.H. Watson |
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| A few years ago whilst looking through some
books the illustrations of A.H.Watson caught my eye. To start
with I thought I was looking at the work of E.H.Shepard (whose
work has been made famous by the illustrations of Winnie-The-Pooh
and friends) as their style was so similar! When I realised
these were indeed the illustrations of someone completely
different and someone who I had never heard of before I then
went on to look for some further examples of this artist's
work… and so my collection grew. |
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| Over my years of collecting, I have really come to appreciate
more and more the delicacy and gracefulness of her simple
line drawings and to see just how unique her style is - very
different to E.H. Shepard who I at first likened her to. Join
me on a brief journey through the life of a talented and yet
largely unnoticed artist. |
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Alice Helena Watson was born in 1896 in Cockermouth,
Cumbria. She was the second child of Alice Maria Bladen and
Stephen Beamont Watson. They lived comfortably in a nice home
with several servants. Alice was one of three children, Charles
being the eldest and Euphemia - Effie for short - the youngest.
From an early age the careers of the girls were mapped out
for them - Alice was to be an artist (although she would have
rather have been on stage) and Effie a musician. However,
writing was what Effie really enjoyed and she did finally
become a writer. She went on to write "The Dragon Who
Would Be Good", a children's book which was published
in 1929 and illustrated by her sister Alice. |
| Alice herself was educated at a Quaker School
near Cockermouth before attending the Glasgow School of Arts
at the age of 16. The course was meant to last two years but
with the war and the death of her father finances did not
allow her to finish the course and she left after one year.
The end of the war saw her working as a governor for a family
in Paris but she was finally able to move back to London and
establish her own art studio. She received her first commission
in 1923 - to illustrate "Santa Claus in Summer"
by Compton McKenzie. Following it's successful publication
in 1924 and her friendship with Mackenzie she went on to illustrate
several more books for him. |
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Alice married Alistair Kenneth MacDonald in
1926. Alistair was already a highly accomplished artist and
his work was in great demand, his linear style influenced
Alice greatly and it can at times be difficult to tell them
apart. Despite her talent Alice had to work hard to achieve
success. Their two sons were born in 1927/1928 and financially
things were difficult. However she kept busy and by 1931 she
had illustrated a number of books for Compton McKenzie, the
book her sister wrote, two books by Marion St. John |
| Webb and many others including
contributions to annuals. Financially things got worse and
worse, the second world war destroying Alistair's business
which resulted in bankruptcy. Alice had to work extremely
hard to bring in an income and care for her two sons illustrating
numerous dustjackets for Collins, not just her own books.
Alistair died in 1948, painting right up to his death. The
following year Alice worked along with her sister on "Nursery
Rhymes", fulfilling a long ambition to compile such
a book. Alice more or left gave up illustrating after this
although she did do the occasional work for Dent in the
1970's.
Alice passed away in 1984. |
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