Biography

Anne Anderson Biography

Anne Anderson – Scottish Illustrator, 1874-1952.

The Miller's Daughter By Anne Anderson
The Miller’s Daughter By Anne Anderson

Anderson was bom in Scotland, spent her childhood in Argentina but later lived in Berkshire. In 1912, she married Alan Wright with whom she collaborated in many books for children. Influenced by both Jessie M. King and Mabel Lucie Attwell, she illustrated over one hundred books for children of which eleven only were fairy tales. Matthews declares that these “contain all the qualities which make her so incomparable a children’s artist… from the point of view of creating for the child mind she is perhaps more important than either [Rackham or Charles Robinson]”.

Anderson was the real breadwinner of the marriage, but Alan Wright drew the animals and birds needed in her compositions, and did it so well that it is difficult to distinguish them from her work. Her success was due in part to the need for her to work hard and earn a decent income from her illustrations. Her illustrations in black and white are decorative and lightly drawn, and the colour plates are delicately coloured. Beside illustrating bodes, she was also an etcher, watercolour painter and designer of greeting cards.


Books illustrated by Anne Anderson include:

  • E. Underdown: Aucassin and Nicolette (Nelson, 1911)
  • The Gateway to Chaucer (Nelson, 1912)
  • H. Mansion: Old Nursery Songs (Harrap, nd)
  • Old French Nursery Songs (Harrap, nd)
  • The Sleepy Song Book (Harrap, nd)
  • E.W. Garrett: Rip (1919)
  • Mrs. H. Strang: My Big Picture Book (with others) (OUP, 1920)
  • E. Talbot: The Cosy-Comfy Book (Collins, 1920)
  • E.C. Eliot: The House Above the Trees (Thornton Butterworth, 1921)
  • M. Barnes: Fireside Stories (Blackie, 1922)
  • A. Herbertson: Sing Song Stories (OUP, 1922)
  • N. Joan: Cosy-Time Tales (Nelson, 1922)
  • Grimm’s Fairy Tales (Collins, 1922)
  • H.C. Andersen: Fairy Tales (Collins, 1924)
  • E.W. Garrett: Wanda and the Garden of the Red House (OUP, 1924)
  • C. Kingsley: The Water Babies (Jack, 1924)
  • P. Morrison: Cosy Chair Stories (Collins, 1924)
  • J. Spyri: Heidi (Harrap, 1924)
  • Mrs. H. Strang: Little Rhymes for Little Folk (OUP, 1925)
  • C. Reward: Mr. Pickles and the Party (Warne, 1926)
  • The Old Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme Book (Nelson, 1926)
  • S. Southwold: Once Upon a Time Stories (Collins, 1927)
  • J.R. Crossland and J.M. Parrish: The Children’s Wonder Book (Odhams, 1933)
  • My Big New Book (with others; Blackie, 1938).

Books written and illustrated include:

  • The Busy Bunny Book (with A. Wright; Nelson, 1916)
  • The Naughty Neddy Book (with A. Wright; Nelson, c.1918)
  • Two Bold Sportsmen (with A. Wright; Nelson, 1918)
  • The Patsy Book (Nelson, 1918)
  • The Violet Book for Children (with A. Wright; OUP, 1920s?)
  • The Jackie Jackdaw Book (Nelson, 1920); The Jacky Horner ABC (Dean, 1920); The Anne Anderson Fairy Tale Book (Nelson, 1923)
  • The Cuddly Kitty and the Busy Bunny (with A. Wright; Nelson, 1926)
  • The Podgy- Puppy (with A. Wright; Nelson, 1927)
  • A Series of Fairy Tales {Nelson, 1928)
  • The Fairy Tale Omnibus (Collins, 1929)
  • Merry Folk (Collins, 1930); Playtime ABC (Collins, 1930)
  • The Anne Anderson Picture Book (Collins, 1943)
  • The Cosy Corner Book (Collins, 1943); Little Folk ABC (Collins, nd).

Contributor:

  • Blackie’s Children’s Annual
  • Cassell’s Children’s Annual
  • Mrs. Strang’s Annuals; Playbox Annual
  • Wonder Annual.

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