Angela Barrett Explained

Angela Barrett (born 1955) is a British artist and illustrator. She has illustrated picture books, children's books and novels, including various fairytales.

Life and career

Barrett grew up sewing and drawing. She attended Thurrock Technical College and worked in retail display. She then attended Maidstone art school and later the Royal College of Art. Barrett's first illustrated book was The King, the Cat and the Fiddle, published in 1983 and written by Yehudi Menuhin and Christopher Hope.

In 2013, stamps depicting novels by Jane Austen were illustrated by Barrett and released by Royal Mail for the 200th anniversary of the novel Pride and Prejudice.^[1]

Style

Barrett's work is mainly created using watercolor, gouache, colored pencils, and ink. She is known for her period pieces and the research she applies to her work. For the 1998 book Joan of Arc, she researched 15th-century art and illuminated manuscripts to create a visual style for the story, using motifs inspired by medieval French fabrics. She uses photographs as reference for her compositions.

Barrett works in a realistic style with distorted figures, proportions and perspectives. Joanna Carey for The Guardian stated Barrett's illustrations have "a stillness and a quiet atmospheric intensity..." Valerie Coghlan stated in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature that Barrett's "slightly elongated figures and faces and distorted perspective are frequently used to heighten tension and impart a sense of mystery."

Illustrated works

• The King, the Cat and the Fiddle (1983), by Yehudi Menuhin and Christopher Hope
• The Wild Swans (c. 1984) by Hans Christian Andersen^[2]
  • The Dragon wore Pink (1985) by Christopher Hope Through the Kitchen Window (c. 1986) by Susan Hill^[3]
• The Snow Queen (1988) by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Naomi Lewis^[4]
• Proud Knight, Fair Lady: The Twelve Lays of Marie de France (1989), translated by Naomi Lewis^[5]
• The Hidden House (1990)
• Snow White (1991), retelling by Josephine Poole
• Beware, Beware (1993), by Susan Hill
• The Ice Palace (1994), by Angela McAllister
• The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet (1995) by Geraldine McCaughrean^[6]
• The Emperor's New Clothes (1997), by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Naomi Lewis^[7]
• Joan of Arc (1998) by Josephine Poole^[8]
• Rocking Horse Land and Other Classic Tales of Dolls and Toys (2000), by Hans Christian Andersen, compiled by Naomi Lewis^[9]
• Through the Tempests Dark and Wild: a Story of Mary Shelley, Creator of Frankenstein (2003) by Sharon Darrow^[10]
• Anne Frank (2005) by Josephine Poole^[11]
• Beauty and the Beast (2006), retelling by Max Eilenberg
• The Snow Goose (2007 edition), by Paul Gallico
• Sylvie and the Songman (2009) by Tim Binding^[12]
• The Night Fairy (2010) by Laura Amy Schlitz^[13]
• The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (2010) by Robert Louis Stevenson^[14]
• The Most Wonderful Thing in the World? (2015), by Vivian French^[15]
• A Christmas Carol (2015) by Charles Dickens^[16]
• The Restless Girls (2019) by Jessie Burton^[17]
• A Far Away Country (2022) by Ruth Boswell^[18]

Awards and honors

• 1991 W. H. Smith Illustration Award for The Hidden House by Martin Waddell
• 1993 Shortlist for the Kate Greenaway Medal for Beware, Beware! by Susan Hill
• 1998 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for Can It Be True?

Notes and References

1. Web site: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice anniversary stamps on sale . BBC News . 8 October 2020 . 21 February 2013.
2. News: Huser . Glen . Redone favorites are still tops in kids' shelves . 8 October 2020 . Edmonton Journal . 9 December 1984 . B8.
3. News: Dirda . Michael . Light and lively offerings for a young reader's shelf . 8 October 2020 . The Orlando Sentinel . 27 April 1986 . F-9.
4. Web site: The Snow Queen . Publishers Weekly . 8 October 2020 . en . October 4, 1993.
5. News: Dalley . Jan . Mole in a soda bottle . 8 October 2020 . The Observer . 2 April 1989 . 44.
6. Web site: The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet . Publishers Weekly . 8 October 2020 . en . July 31, 1995.
7. Web site: The Emperor's New Clothes . Publishers Weekly . 8 October 2020.
8. News: Warner . Marina . Lives of a Saint . 8 October 2020 . The New York Times . 15 November 1998.
9. Web site: Children's Book Review: Rocking Horse Land and Other Classic Tales of Dolls and Toys . Publishers Weekly . 8 October 2020 . en . October 30, 2000.
10. Tegart . Beth . Darrow, Sharon. Through the Tempests Dark and Wild: a Story of Mary Shelley, Creator of Frankenstein . School Library Journal . June 2003 . 49 . 6 . 158 . 8 October 2020 . English . 0362-8930.
11. Markson . Teri . Poole, Josephine. Anne Frank . School Library Journal . September 2005 . 51 . 9 . 195 . 8 October 2020 . English . 0362-8930.
12. Spisak . April . Sylvie and the Songman (review) . Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books . 6 February 2010 . 63 . 6 . 236–237 . 10.1353/bcc.0.1540 . 143520298 . 8 October 2020 . en . 1558-6766.
13. News: Rosenberg . Liz . Flight of the wingless sprite . 8 October 2020 . The Boston Globe . 21 March 2010 . C7.
14. Web site: Hand and Eye Letterpress . 2023-10-12 . www.handandeye.co.uk . en.
15. Lehmuller . Lisa . French, Vivian. The Most Wonderful Thing in the World . School Library Journal . November 2015 . 61 . 11 . 81 . 8 October 2020 . English . 0362-8930.
16. Web site: Hand and Eye Letterpress . 2023-10-12 . www.handandeye.co.uk . en.
17. Salvadore . Maria B. . BURTON, Jessie. The Restless Girls . School Library Journal . November 2018 . 64 . 11 . 66 . 8 October 2020 . English . 0362-8930.
18. Web site: About Hand and Eye . 2023-10-12 . www.handandeye.co.uk . en.