Pioneering Victorian Illustrator and Career Woman Kate Greenaway

Kate Greenaway is remembered for her quaintly sentimental illustrations of children; few people know that she was in the vanguard of fully professionally trained British women artists in the Victorian era. Moreover, despite her twee reputation, Kate Greenaway was an astute career and business woman, who adeptly managed opportunities in the newly burgeoning gift card trade and proliferating popular press to establish a hugely successful career as an internationally best selling illustrator. This course investigates innovations in the training available to aspiring women artists in mid nineteenth century Britain, and explores how Kate Greenway used this to advantage on her career path. The depth and range of her work, which is much greater than is generally realised, is uncovered and assessed. Additionally, her friendship with art critic John Ruskin and the decline of her career towards the end of her life are analysed. Finally, the legacy of Kate Greenaway’s drawing and art are brought into focus.