REIMAGINED CLASSIC STORIES

Arthur Rackham v. Marc Johnson-Pencook

Arthur Rackham (September 19. 1867 – September 6, 1939) was one of the pre-eminent illustrators in what is known as “The Golden Age of Illustration”. This age was primarily a British phenomena. It lasted about 30 years, roughly from 1890 until 1920. Arthur Rackham’s art work, at first in pen and ink only but soon in color as well, graced many books for children from 1893 right up until his death in 1939. In the “Tales of Mystery and Imagination”, the Poe collection referenced in our February 1st blog, he contributed 40 illustrations, 12 in color and 28 in pen and ink.

Arthur Rackham inspired Marc Johnson-Pencook and influenced his development as a major talent in the modern age of illustration. Compare the climatic scene in Hop-Frog depicted by Arthur Packham in the illustrated Poe collection of stories published in 1935 with the same scene depicted by Marc Johnson-Pencook in 2014. You can see how the master influenced his neo-classic disciple.

Check our gallery page to see other scenes from stories in our Adapted Classics collection, all illustrated by Marc. Take a look! You will undoubtedly conclude that Marc Johnson-Pencook ranks as an outstanding pen and ink artist in the modern age!

    Marc Johnson-Pencook                     Arthur Rackham