Mabel Lucie Attwell (4 June 1879 – 5 November 1964) was a British illustrator. She was known for her cute, nostalgic drawings of children, based on her daughter, Peggy. Her drawings are featured on many postcards, advertisements, posters, books and figurines. In 1908, she married painter and illustrator Harold Cecil Earnshaw and became the mother of one daughter and two sons.
Atwell was born in Mile End, London, 4 June 1879, the sixth child of butcher Augustus Atwell and his wife Emily Ann. She was educated privately and at the Coopers’ Company School and at the Regent Street school. She studied at Heatherley’s and St Martin’s School of Art, and but left to develop her own interest in imaginary subjects, disliking the emphasis on still-life drawing and classical subjects.
After she sold work to the Tatler and Bystander, she was taken on by the agents Francis and Mills, leading to a long and consistently successful career. In 1908, she married painter and illustrator Harold Cecil Earnshaw (d. 1937) with whom she had a daughter, Marjorie, and two sons. She died at her home in Fowey, Cornwall, in 1964, after which herBUSINESS
was carried on by her daughter, Marjorie.
Mabel Lucie Attwell’s initial career was founded on magazine illustration, which she continued throughout her life, but around 1900 she began receiving commissions for book illustration, notably for W & R Chambers and the Raphael House Library of Gift Books. She illustrated children’s classics such as Mother Goose (1910), Alice in Wonderland (1911), Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales (1914), The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley (1915), and Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie. Attwell contributed illustrations to popular periodicals such as The Tatler, The Bystander, Graphic, and The Illustrated London News. She produced advertising illustrations for clients such as Vim (cleaning product), and illustrated greeting cards as well.
Her early works were somewhat derivative of the style of artists such as her friend Hilda Cowham, Jessie Willcox Smith, John Hassall, and the Heath Robinson brothers. From 1914 onwards, however, she developed her trademark style of sentimentalized rotund cuddly infants, which became ubiquitous across a wide range of markets: cards, calendars, nursery equipment and pictures, crockery and dolls. In 1921, J.M. Barrie personally requested her to illustrate the gift-book edition of Peter Pan. The Lucie Attwell Annual was published from 1922 to 1974, its continuance ten years after her death being made possible by extensive re-use of images, a practice established in 1920s picture books of her work.
Atwell was born in Mile End, London, 4 June 1879, the sixth child of butcher Augustus Atwell and his wife Emily Ann. She was educated privately and at the Coopers’ Company School and at the Regent Street school. She studied at Heatherley’s and St Martin’s School of Art, and but left to develop her own interest in imaginary subjects, disliking the emphasis on still-life drawing and classical subjects.
After she sold work to the Tatler and Bystander, she was taken on by the agents Francis and Mills, leading to a long and consistently successful career. In 1908, she married painter and illustrator Harold Cecil Earnshaw (d. 1937) with whom she had a daughter, Marjorie, and two sons. She died at her home in Fowey, Cornwall, in 1964, after which herBUSINESS
was carried on by her daughter, Marjorie.
Mabel Lucie Attwell’s initial career was founded on magazine illustration, which she continued throughout her life, but around 1900 she began receiving commissions for book illustration, notably for W & R Chambers and the Raphael House Library of Gift Books. She illustrated children’s classics such as Mother Goose (1910), Alice in Wonderland (1911), Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales (1914), The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley (1915), and Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie. Attwell contributed illustrations to popular periodicals such as The Tatler, The Bystander, Graphic, and The Illustrated London News. She produced advertising illustrations for clients such as Vim (cleaning product), and illustrated greeting cards as well.
Her early works were somewhat derivative of the style of artists such as her friend Hilda Cowham, Jessie Willcox Smith, John Hassall, and the Heath Robinson brothers. From 1914 onwards, however, she developed her trademark style of sentimentalized rotund cuddly infants, which became ubiquitous across a wide range of markets: cards, calendars, nursery equipment and pictures, crockery and dolls. In 1921, J.M. Barrie personally requested her to illustrate the gift-book edition of Peter Pan. The Lucie Attwell Annual was published from 1922 to 1974, its continuance ten years after her death being made possible by extensive re-use of images, a practice established in 1920s picture books of her work.
Mabel Lucie’s unique appeal was her ability to communicate with adults –whoever they were. Her messages appealed particularly to mothers as well as families and soldiers during both the First and Second World Wars.
‘Motherhood was the wonderful thing in my life,’ she said, reflecting on her own rather cold upbringing. ‘I draw mainly for adults... the message is between adults – me and any other,’ she says of her cheerful, witty messages that aimed to please and inspire everyone to calm down and carry on, whether in the face of World Wars or to take ‘the steam out of the family battleground’.
‘Motherhood was the wonderful thing in my life,’ she said, reflecting on her own rather cold upbringing. ‘I draw mainly for adults... the message is between adults – me and any other,’ she says of her cheerful, witty messages that aimed to please and inspire everyone to calm down and carry on, whether in the face of World Wars or to take ‘the steam out of the family battleground’.
The early years
Born in 1879 to a large family in the East End of London, Mabel Lucie had a strict Victorian upbringing. Her father, a butcher, progressive thinker and homeopath (who had sea water brought especially to London for his baths) was eccentric and strict. She loved her parents and respected the perfection her father strove for, but her childhood lacked warmth and her early drawings reflect her yearning for comfort and affection.
Family life
But by the age of 16, she had sold her first drawings and was able to fund her own further education. At St Martin’s School, she fell in love with the carefree, warm and sociable artist Harold Cecil Earnshaw, who became her beloved husband and father of three children.
She adored her children and her only daughter, Peggy, who was also a talented artists in her own right, began helping her in the 1950s with postcard designs. Peggy’s grandson Webster Wickham is now the licensing agent for Mabel Lucie Attwell’s work.
Mabel Lucie led a full and lively life during which her characters were produced on everything from tableware to textiles, postcards and figurines. With her illustrations in much demand and although enjoying London socialising, she and Harold eventually settled for the country and bought a house in Coulsdon on the Farthing Downs in Surrey 1910. Her work here gathered pace and as well as illustrating many children’s classics, she invented the Boo Boos, cheeky ‘do-good’ fairies whose tales she wrote herself in a series ofBOOKS
produced by her long-time publishers Valentine & Sons. The Boo Boo’s adventures with a little girl called Bunty, went on to become extremely popular, both in Britain and abroad.
She adored her children and her only daughter, Peggy, who was also a talented artists in her own right, began helping her in the 1950s with postcard designs. Peggy’s grandson Webster Wickham is now the licensing agent for Mabel Lucie Attwell’s work.
Mabel Lucie led a full and lively life during which her characters were produced on everything from tableware to textiles, postcards and figurines. With her illustrations in much demand and although enjoying London socialising, she and Harold eventually settled for the country and bought a house in Coulsdon on the Farthing Downs in Surrey 1910. Her work here gathered pace and as well as illustrating many children’s classics, she invented the Boo Boos, cheeky ‘do-good’ fairies whose tales she wrote herself in a series ofBOOKS
produced by her long-time publishers Valentine & Sons. The Boo Boo’s adventures with a little girl called Bunty, went on to become extremely popular, both in Britain and abroad.A life of illustration
In 1922 she developed a relationship with the Queen of Romania and was invited out to stay with her Royal Highness in Bucharest. It was her first trip abroad: ‘Poor shy little me, pitched right in the very middle of a Royal Family. Ceremony and trappings complete.’ The two women had a remarkable affinity for each other, both with a love of children. But Mabel Lucie’s heart was with her husband and her children and she returned home because she was missing them so much.
Throughout her life, Mabel was extremely hardworking, producing a huge body of work. She had a strong personality, was a stylish London socialite and was fiercely independent. But her heart always lay at home with her family – beset with personal tragedy over the coming years as her son Brian died and her daughter Peggy suffered from an unhappy marriage. In 1937 her adored husband Harold eventually died of the effects of his war wounds, aged only 51.
Her characters, often seen to be ‘smiling through tears’, may have helped her during these difficult times, during which demand for her work never dwindled or lost its popular appeal.
Reflecting on her life in 1964, she said ‘My life has been good and sad. I have, according to many letters I have received, given a lot of happiness to a lot of people through two World Wars.’Mabel Lucie Attwell died peacefully in Cornwall on 5 November the same year. Mabel Lucie’s illustrations are timeless and retain their familiarity and appeal today. In the face of adversity and in families around the world, her witty lines are as poignant as ever.
Throughout her life, Mabel was extremely hardworking, producing a huge body of work. She had a strong personality, was a stylish London socialite and was fiercely independent. But her heart always lay at home with her family – beset with personal tragedy over the coming years as her son Brian died and her daughter Peggy suffered from an unhappy marriage. In 1937 her adored husband Harold eventually died of the effects of his war wounds, aged only 51.
Her characters, often seen to be ‘smiling through tears’, may have helped her during these difficult times, during which demand for her work never dwindled or lost its popular appeal.
Reflecting on her life in 1964, she said ‘My life has been good and sad. I have, according to many letters I have received, given a lot of happiness to a lot of people through two World Wars.’Mabel Lucie Attwell died peacefully in Cornwall on 5 November the same year. Mabel Lucie’s illustrations are timeless and retain their familiarity and appeal today. In the face of adversity and in families around the world, her witty lines are as poignant as ever.
https://youtu.be/DCnhXv_XEj8 Video
 Mabel Lucie Attwell became a household name during the 1930’s and 40’s with her illustrations of pudgy and appealing toddlers. The public’s insatiable appetite for her illustrations generated an extensive market for Mabel Lucie Attwell ephemera.Childhood & EducationMabel Lucie Attwell was born 4 June 1879 at Mile End in London, the ninth child out of ten children born to a butcher. She studied at both the Regent School of Art and Heatherley’s School of Art, but because she disliked formal training and grew bored with copying, she never completed either course. She preferred to illustrate her own fantasies. Professional Career By the time Attwell was sixteen years old, she had enough drawings of fairies and children to bring them to a leading London artists’ agency. The lukewarm reception that she received was upsetting to the young artist but short-lived. She was notified several days later that not only had all the drawings sold, but that they wanted more! In 1908, Attwell married the illustrator Harold Cecil Earnshaw, and had two children, Peter and Peggy. Their daughter Peggy was the inspiration for the typical Mabel Lucie Attwell toddler and achieved immortality through the illustrations in Attwell’s books. Peggy (Wickham) later became a talented artist and illustrator in her own right. Between 1905 and 1913, Attwell illustrated ten books for W. & R. Chambers, providing 4 to 8 color plates for each. By 1911, she was designing postcards and greeting cards for Valentine & Sons of Dundee.  She illustrated two gift books for Hodder & Stoughton. The first was Peeping Pansy in 1918 by Marie, Queen of Roumania. The Queen even invited Attwell to stay at the Royal Palace in Bucharest. The second book was Peter Pan and Wendy by J. M. Barrie who admired her work and personally requested her to illustrate this edition.During Attwell’s career, she designed advertisements, posters, calendars, figurines and wall plaques. During the First World War, thousands of her colored postcards were sent to cheer up the troops in the trenches. One of her most famous drawings, ‘Diddums’, was made into a doll, a typically Attwell styled boy doll which was to be found in nurseries around the world. In 1937 and 1938, Princess Margaret commissioned her to do her personal Christmas card. Attwell also contributed to several periodicals and annuals. In 1943, she started a comic strip in the London Opinion called “Wot a Life”. Sets of Mabel Lucie Attwell China were used in the Royal Nursery of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and later Prince Charles. Her illustrations of chubby, winsome children were extremely popular during the 1930’s and 40’s. Although she was criticized for theirsweetness, she became a wide commercial success. In 1945 Attwell moved to Fowey, Cornwall to live with her son Peter. She died at home on 5 November 1964. Style & Technique She worked mostly in watercolor and pen-and-ink. Her early work was delicate and appealing, but later she was criticized for providing formula illustrations—no variety of concept or technique. One critic noted: “Such genuine talent as she had was soon submerged in the mediocrity of endless pictures of chubby, dimpled babies and infants, so that her name became synonymous in Britain with the sentimentalization of childhood.” Raison d’Être “I see the child in the adult, then I draw the adult as a child . . .”  |
Mabel Lucie Attwell
by Elliott & Fry
toned chlorobromide print, circa 1924
toned chlorobromide print, circa 1924
I'd like to caption the above, "I read the news today - Oh boy!"
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