Hilda Gertrude Cowham (29 July 1873 – 28 September 1964) was an English illustrator, famous for her work on children's books and ceramic nurseryware.
Hilda Gertrude Cowham | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 29 July 1873 Westminster, London, England |
| Died | 28 September 1964 (aged 91) Shalford, Surrey, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Illustration |
| Spouse | Edgar Lander |
Biography
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Hilda Cowham was born at the Wesleyan Training College on Horseferry Road in Westminster on 29 July 1873.[1] She was a student at Wimbledon School of Art (where she studied modelling with Alfred Drury), Lambeth School of Art, and the Royal College of Art.[2] She was one of the first women illustrators to publish in Punch.[3] Her work was also published in The Sketch, The Graphic and other magazines and periodicals.[4]
She illustrated children's books, such as Fiddlesticks (1900), Peter Pickle and his dog Fido (1906), Curly Heads and Long Legs (1914), and Blacklegs and Others (1911). One of her characters, a "bush haired, black stockinged imp with big sash bow and infinitesimal petticoats", became famous as the "Cowham child" and was widely imitated.[5] In the 1930s Cowham designed a number of posters for London Underground.[6]
In the period 1924 to 1935, she and her friend Mabel Lucie Attwell were employed by Shelley Potteries Ltd to provide illustrations for baby's plate and nurseryware.[7]
Cowham was married to Edgar Lander, also an artist;[3] they had one son.[5]
She died in Shalford, Surrey on 28 September 1964, and was cremated.[1]
References
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- ^ a b Horne, Alan. "Cowham [married name Lander], Hilda Gertrude". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/57145. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Hammerton, John Alexander (1905). Humorists of the Pencil. London: Hurst and Blackett. p. 158. Retrieved 12 October 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Art and Artists", Otago Witness, 3 February 1904
- ^ "Father Christmas as We Imagine Him; Father Christmas as He More Often Is". The Sketch. XXIV (308): 338–339. 21 December 1898. Retrieved 12 October 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Baby Wit", Marlborough Express, 15 September 1913
- ^ David Bownes (2018). Poster Girls. London Transport Museum. ISBN 978-1-871829-28-0.
- ^ Hilda Cowham brief biography from the London Transport Museum
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