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Margaret Tarrant began her professional carrer during Christmas Cards but in 1908 ilustrated Kingsley’s The Water Babies. The succes of the book established her reputation as an imaginative illustrator. She like many other illustartors of the day was active drawing post card images. She also did posters, greeting cards, and calendars. Her 1916 edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was also well received. She worked with Marion St John Webb on a series of Flower Fairy books in the 1920s that proved very popular. Her drawings are often of fantasy scenes, but she also did many realistic images of contemprary children.
Margaret's father was Percy Tarrant a landscape painter. He was a successful illustrator of magazines and books as well as greeting cards. It is interesting to note the number of illustrators wose partents were ilustrators themselves or had artistic bents. This appears to be especially the case of daughters at the time. One suspects that the limited oportunities that women had at the time may have been a factor. Margaret's mother was Sarah Wyatt.
Margaret was born in Battersea, a south London suburb in 1888. She was an only child and grew up in comfortable circumstances. Her father encouraged her interest in drawing. She would often set up exhibitions of her work and invite her parents to view it.
No information available.
Margaret's first formal art training came from the art department of Clapham High School. While there she won several awards for drawing. She then studied at the Clapham School of Art. She gave some thought to becoming a teacher and began teacher trainer courses, but then decided to persue a career in art. After beginning her art career she studied at Heatherley’s School of Art, in London, (1918-23) and at the Guildford School of Art (1935).
Tarrant was one of the most prolific English illustrators of children books during the first half of the 20th century. She was particularly active during the 1920s and 30s. She was particularly known for her wonderfully imagniative depiction of children and fairies, in part because of the success of Water Babies early in her career. She also drew wonderfuly fanciful animals whichbchildren loved, such as a dragon with a suitcase.
Tarrant began working as an illustrator in 1906 when she worked on Christmas cards. She was very fortunate that the first major commission that she got as an illustaror came in 1908 when she illustrated Charles Kingsley’s The Water Babies. The enormous success of the book made her at a very young age a recognized illustrator. This sucess was followed by a popular seeries of postcards. Her association with fairies was set in the 1920s when she collaborated with Marion St. John Webb on a series of Flower Fairy books in the 1920s. Her work was very well known in England, not only for her book illustrations, which only parents with small children might have seen, but also because her drawings were done for postcards, calendars, greeting cards and prints of all sorts. Her most famous drawing, "The Piper of Dreams" was reproduced and sold in large numbers. Her religious works were also popular. A trip to Palestine in 1936 after the death of her parents proved very inspirational.
Tarrant's body of work is impressive. She illustrated nearly 70 books, not to mention the many post cards, greeding cards, calendars, and prints she also created. Two notable books she illustrated were F.J. Snell, The Girlhoods of Famous Women (1915) and Lewis Carroll's classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1916). Tarant is probably best known for The WaterBabies (2908)and The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1912) One certainly thinks of Tarrant when ever faries come to mind.
The image above shows one of Tarrant's beautiful water colors (figure 1). She in fact worked in several media. Besides her water colors, she was quite accomplished with pen-and-ink and graphite. Her silhouette drawings, a popular form in the 1920s and 30s, were also well received.
Much of Tarrant's prolific output is not pertinant to HBC as it deals with fairies or imaginative stories. She also dis quite a number of contemporary drawings for the many books she illustrated. There are some of her best ones in The Book of the Clock (1986) published after her death. The drawings show many early 20th century fashions, including sailor caps, tunics, smocks, Russian blouses, Peter Pan collars, short trousers, knickers, kneesocks and log stockings, strap shoes, sandals, and other garments.
Tarrant was close to a friend Molly Brett, another illustrator, who she moved in with when her health began deteriorating. She was also close to Cicely Mary Barker, another children’s book illustrator. The two had many of the same ibtersts. Barker like Tarrant was known her fairy books, although it is difficult to tell who influenced who. Barker also did religious paintings.
Tarrant did a few drawings for the World War II war effort. She was recognized by the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Artists in Birmingham after the War. She continued illustrating in the 1940s and early 50s. Her
health and eyesight began deteriorating in 1953. Her last book, illustrations for Katherine Bamfield's The Story of Christmas was published in 1953. She passsed away in 1959.
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