THE ART & IMAGINATION OF WINSOR McCAY pete beard 2020-02-29 | A look at one of the most significant figures in the history of both illustration and animation.And one of the reasons I wanted to be an illustrator in the first place.
EUGENE ZIMMERMAN HD 1080p pete beard 2026-09-22 | Some of the cartoons of Eugene Zimmerman will more than likely meet with disapproval from a few viewers who may be labouring under the misapprehension that by showing the more contentious aspects of his humour I’m condoning it. The images featured are over a century old and they reflect attitudes which are considerably at odds with current social norms. But I hold the unshakable opinion that the past can’t be judged by contemporary standards and we should be able to view the images without pointless retrospective virtue signalling. If you disagree I suggest you watch something else.
THE ART OF RENÉ MAGRITTE HD 1080p pete beard 2026-09-12 | Here’s another of my occasional videos about artists (rather than illustrators) whose work I admire, and René Magritte is up there with the best of them as far as I'm concerned. I've been beguiled ever since I first saw his paintings in the school library, and unlike some other youthful enthusiasms my fascination hasn’t worn off even a little in the ensuing decades.
THE ART & ILLUSTRATION OF EILEEN MAYO HD 1080p pete beard 2026-09-02 | Like a few others Eileen Mayo appeared a while back in brief in the unsung heroes series, but I’m pleased to have been able to return to her as a subject with a full video tribute. She is yet another example of a multifaceted talent and i hope you find her work as compelling as I do.The next video will probably be a little later than usual as with a bit of luck (damn my bad back) I’m about to head to Spain, and won’t be uploading it until I get home.
THE CHILDRENS ILLUSTRATIONS OF JOHNNY GRUELLE HD 1080p pete beard 2026-08-23 | II would be very surprised if the stories of Raggedy Ann and Andy were not known by most American viewers of this channel. And probably a large proportion of those from other countries including my own. But I wouldn’t mind betting that far fewer know the name of their creator, Johnny Gruelle, or the immense amount of other impressive illustrated work he created. What’s shown here is far from the totality of his body of work but I like to think it’s a good representative overview.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF PIERRE FALKÉ HD 1080p pete beard 2026-08-14 | Sometimes trying to find biographical information about the subjects I cover is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. And such is the case with French illustrator Pierre Falké. The best I could manage was a few grudging lines on Wikipedia France, so more than most this will be very much a review of his published work, which I'm fairly certain will be largely unknown to viewers, even in his own country.
THE ART & ILLUSTRATION OF JOHN SCHOENHERR HD 1080p pete beard 2026-08-04 | Because my own primary fascination has always been with the illustrators of the early 20th century, John Schoenherr is yet another remarkable talent I was ignorant of until a few years back. And the more I discovered by him the more determined I became that he should have his own video. So here it is, and whether you are a long time admirer of his work or he’s new to you I hope this tribute does him justice.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS & GRAPHIC ART OF SHIGERU HATSUYAMA HD 1080p pete beard 2026-07-25 | Regular viewers will be aware that I'm frequently compelled to make videos about people who might as well be ghosts, if it wasn't for the images they created. Shigeru Hatsuyama is a prime example of this. Finding meaningful biographical information was a virtual impossibility, and although I did manage to scrape together enough visual content to be able to make this video it’s shorter than usual. But I like to think that his body of work is fascinating enough to hold your interest.
THE ART & ILLUSTRATIONS OF CLIFFORD WEBB HD 1080p pete beard 2026-07-16 | Like other British illustrators and artists of his time Clifford Webb was adept with a whole host of graphic techniques and mediums. He isn't as well known as some of his contemporaries, but in my book he is every bit as fascinating and deserves much wider appreciation than he has had to date. Hopefully, you'll share my admiration of his work.
THE ART & ILLUSTRATIONS OF HENRI DE TOULOUSE LAUTREC HD 1080p pete beard 2026-07-06 | Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is undoubtedly one of the better known subjects I’ve covered so far in the series, although I suspect his celebrity status has as much to do with his tragic brief life as it does for the actual quality of the work. Either way he makes for an interesting subject in that he enjoyed pretty much equal success as an artist and an illustrator, and has influenced many who came after. And whether you love his work or not his importance in both disciplines can’t be overestimated.
THE ILLUSTRATED POSTERS OF JUPP WIERTZ HD 1080p pete beard 2026-06-27 | This video is shorter than usual for the simple reason that there just isn’t enough useable visual material by or information about Jupp Wiertz to be had. But on the upside what visual evidence I could find is - in my opinion at least - pretty impressive. Despite the title of the video Wiertz did create images for other purposes but it was overwhelmingly posters that dominated his output in what was unfortunately a much shorter career than it might have been.P.S. Various more knowledgable viewers have pointed out that it wasn't actually hundreds who died in the Hindenburg fire, but it did nevertheless kill that mode of transport.
THE POSTERS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF TADEUSZ GRONOWSKI HD pete beard 2026-06-18 | Tadeusz Gronowski was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1894, and unfortunately I haven't been able to find much in the way of biographical information about him. On the other hand the timescale of his output was more readily available than that of many others, which made the research somewhat easier. Swings and roundabouts. I hope this video brings him at least some new admirers outside - and maybe even inside - his own country.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF McCLELLAND BARCLAY HD 1080p pete beard 2026-06-08 | I'm posting this one earlier than planned as I'm heading off for a week's holiday. And for the same reason I wont be replying to comments until I get back - but I hope you'll say nice things about it anyway.Between the 1920s and 40s McClelland Barclay's glamorous images were published regularly for magazine fiction and advertising in the USA. But his memory doesn't seem to have endured as well as it might have, so I hope this video shines more light on his life and work than he has had to date.
THE WILDLIFE ART & ILLUSTRATION OF CHARLES TUNNICLIFFE HD pete beard 2026-05-31 | If like me you were raised in britain during the 1950s it’s odds on that you would be familiar with the wildlife art of Charles Tunnicliffe, even if you didn't know his name. The many images he created, some as art and others as illustration, are in my view at least some of the finest and most absorbing animal studies I can think of. So I hope you find the video both entertaining and educational as always.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF WALTER MOLINO HD 1080p pete beard 2026-05-21 | I found very little biographical information about Walter Molino, and most of it came from Italian Wikipedia, so might be suspect in terms of its veracity. But poor information aside there were plenty of images to be had, many of which were from the original artwork, which is always a bonus. As with quite a few other subjects in this series I only found out about the work of Walter Molino fairly recently, and I now find myself fascinated and amused by his work. I’ll be interested to hear whether you feel the same way.
THE ART, DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION OF ERIC RAVILIOUS HD pete beard 2026-05-11 | Much as I respect Eric Ravilious as an illustrator I find myself in the unusual position of actually preferring the work he created as art. His watercolour landscapes, wood engravings and lithographic prints are a source of endless fascination and balm for the soul which make him one of my all time favourites. So here is a cross section of work from his tragically brief career for you to view and I hope it resonates with you as it does with me.
THE ART & CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATIONS OF WANDA GÁG pete beard 2026-05-02 | Wanda Gág was one of the earliest 20th century illustrators to create picture books for children, where the images were dominant over the minimal text. She was also significant in that almost all her work, whether art or illustration, was created as monochrome. Although yet another who I covered briefly in the unsung heroes strand it's high time she had her own video, I think.
THE ART OF ALBRECHT DÜRER HD pete beard 2026-04-22 | Although Albrecht Dürer is greatly admired as an artist - and so he should be - my own interest is more for his printed output, which gives him a valid claim as one of the earliest and most significant figures in Europe who could be considered to be every bit as much an illustrator. I have been fascinated by his work since my teens and this is my long overdue tribute to the man and his talents.
THE POSTERS & ILLUSTRATIONS OF OTTO BAUMBERGER HD 1080p pete beard 2026-04-12 | I'm aware that I have a tendency to repeat myself about the nature of some of the subjects featured on the channel, frequently in relation to their graphic diversity. But Otto Baumberger makes just about everyone else look predictable by comparison. I genuinely can't think of another who demonstrated such mastery of so many different approaches and all with equal success, and I believe he's deserving of far greater recognition.
THE SCENIC POSTERS AND PAINTINGS OF NORMAN WILKINSON HD pete beard 2026-04-02 | I should probably mention that there were in fact two Norman Wilkinsons working in Britain as illustrators in the same period. So if you come across a few decidedly more romantic images attributed to that name they shouldn’t be confused with our subject at hand. This one, as you’ll see, devoted himself to a life of creating scenic images as both art and illustration of land and seascapes. Definitely among the lesser known of the subjects I’ve tackled so far, and as far as I’m concerned unjustly so.
THE ART & ILLUSTRATIONS OF JÁNOS KASS HD 1080p pete beard 2026-03-23 | Hungary is a country that can boast quite a few illustrators of significant interest, and yet the world at large seems pretty much ignorant of any of them. Janos Kass is a case in point. His work is inventive, frequently unexpected and never less than visually absorbing. In making this video I discovered that until fairly recently Hungary had a back to front naming convention so don’t be surprised by the mismatch between names appearing on screen and my wild attempts to pronounce them. And I apologise in advance for the extended periods during his career for which I could find little or no evidence.
THE ART & ILLUSTRATIONS OF MAURICE LELOIR HD pete beard 2026-03-14 | Maurice Leloir isn’t a name that many are familiar with, particularly outside France. In all honesty I’d never heard of him until a couple of years ago when I was as usual looking for something else entirely. And as I was more than impressed by the qualities of his work I eventually set about this video tribute to an artist and illustrator who puts many better known exponents of realistic figurative illustration to shame.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF PAOLO GARRETTO HD pete beard 2026-03-04 | Outside Italy there aren't many who are aware of Paolo Garretto, and yet once upon a time he was an international success with an enviable reputation. He was one of a relatively small number of illustrators determined to pursue modernism and elements of abstract art in the creation of his work and he undoubtedly influenced many others who came later. I'm grateful to Steven Heller for much of the biographical information provided here, without which this would have been about half the length.
CHARLES ROBINSON HD 1080p pete beard 2026-02-23 | I was rather shocked to realise that the video I made a few years back about William heath Robinson only runs for about 13 minutes. Since that time the videos have generally increased in length, and consequently this one about his less well known older brother Charles has a longer run time. Some viewers may actually prefer the work of Charles to that of William, and I wouldn’t want to pick a fight over that. But wherever your preferences lie Charles is a more than worthy addition to the series, I think.
THE HUMOROUS ILLUSTRATIONS OF REA IRVIN HD 1080p pete beard 2026-02-14 | To an extent, the relentlessly cheerful work of Rea Irvin has already featured, due to his work as editor of the New Yorker, in the video I made about the earlier years of its publication. But this time around I want to go into more detail about his own work and its remarkable contribution to the evolution of humorous illustration in the 20th century. Certainly he was another man who was way ahead of his time, and one of the most downright entertaining illustrators I can think of.PS I assert that by the mid 20s the term art deco was in use - but it wasn't. Apparently it was the 60s before it came into wide spread use. Live and learn...
THE ART OF KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI pete beard 2026-02-04 | The Japanese artist known in the west as Katsushika Hokusai was known by many different names during his lifetime - conservative estimates suggest in excess of 30. Apparently this practice was widespread among the artists of the period but nobody was quite as enthusiastic about it as Hokusai. And we should strictly refer to him anyway as Katsushika, as Japanese names are back to front from our perspective . But I’m sticking with Hokusai here to avoid yet more confusion. So having cleared that up let’s take a look at one of the greatest printmakers and artists of all time.And a small but telling correction. The little figures in the boats in The Great Wave are not in fact depictions of the dead (as I had always understood them to be from somewhere of other) although given the size of the wave they might soon be heading in that direction. And there's another mistake - at about 4.30 I give the year as 1911 and it should of course be 1811
THE CHILDRENS BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS OF KATE SEREDY HD 1080p pete beard 2026-01-26 | Kate Seredy is yet another in an ever-growing long line of illustrators I was unaware of until I started making videos. Although Hungarian she spent all her working life in the USA, and I suspect there will be quite a few American viewers who grew up reading her books. And although I'm late finding out about her I'm very pleased to have made her acquaintance.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF ERIC FRASER HD 1080p pete beard 2026-01-17 | As a British kid growing up in the 1950s the work of Eric Fraser was everywhere, but at that time I was far too busy reading and copying comics to be remotely interested. But as I got older and studied illustration I started to understand the appeal of his work, even if some still left me entirely unmoved. So making this video is an opportunity to not only bring his work to the attention of a wider audience, but also for me to re-evaluate Fraser's output with considerably less bias than in my youth.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF WALTER CRANE pete beard 2026-01-08 | Walter Crane was undoubtedly one of the most significant figures in the evolution of children's illustration, and is among the few who could be said to have endured in our collective memory. Even so I'm sure there will be viewers who are not aware of his work and it's importance. Many of Crane's books were published and re-formatted several times, so I advise you not to take the dates provided as necessarily being accurate, although I have done my level best in that regard.But I have apparently had a senior moment when narrating this as at around 5.20 I refer to 1979 when of course I meant to say 1879. Oops...
DUILIO CAMBELLOTTI pete beard 2025-12-29 | Here's my last upload for 2025 and I look forward to featuring more in the coming year, fingers crossed of course.In Italy it seems Duilio Cambellotti is quite well known and highly regarded among those with an interest in the visual arts. But elsewhere I’m fairly certain he qualifies as being obscure. This is unfortunate as he was a latter day Renaissance man of considerable diverse abilities, and as always in these cases I hope to introduce him to as many viewers as possible.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARLES KEEPING pete beard 2025-12-19 | This is by no means a complete overview of Charles Keeping’s career as there were quite a few books illustrated, and in some cases also written by him, that I couldn’t find visual evidence for. So if I’ve missed out any personal favourites I apologise for the omission.Hopefully those of you who are already admirers of his work will take a ‘glass half full’ view of this tribute. And for those who were not aware of him I think you are in for an eye-opening treat.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS & POSTERS OF LEONETTO CAPPIELLO HD 1080p pete beard 2025-12-10 | Although Italian by birth Leonetto Cappiello worked almost exclusively in his adopted country, France. And there he had significant success in what waas effectively rwo seperate illustration careers. He first worked as a cartoonist for humorous magazines but later became one of the most significant poster designers of the early 20th century. I hope you will enjoy this look at his remarkable career and output.
UNSUNG HEROES OF ILLUSTRATION 104 HD 1080p pete beard 2025-12-01 | Annother quartet of relatively obscure figures from illustration's rich history. All four were born in the first decade of the 20th century, but otherwise have nothing in common. I hope you enjoy the variety of work on offer.
THE ART OF PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER HD 1080p pete beard 2025-11-22 | I've heard it said that a change is as good as a rest, and with that in mind I decided to see what would happen if I made a few videos about artists rather than illustrators. The first - and possibly last (if views are particularly poor) - is the 16th century Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. He's been a personal favourite for around 60 years so it's high time I paid tribute. I'm happy for you to decide whether it's a waste of time or not. And no video of mine would be complete without a conspicuous error - at 12.45 I refer to the year 1858 when it should be 1558. Silly me.
THE CHILDRENS ILLUSTRATIONS OF HONOR C APPLETON HD 1080p pete beard 2025-11-13 | Making this video has given me considerable pleasure, and I hope you will feel similarly about the images shown. But it's also been a frustrating experience as there is next to no biographical information about her, and there are many books that she published for which there is no usable visual evidence. Consequently there are huge holes, which I hope you can overlook if only to admire her charming evocative pictures.
THE WILDLIFE ART & ILLUSTRATION OF PAUL JOUVE HD 1080p pete beard 2025-11-03 | In France Paul Jouve's reputation as a wildlife artist and illustrator is unassailable, and his images are considered to be highly collectible. How well known he is currently outside his country of birth I don't know, but I strongly suspect he will be new to many viewers of this channel.He was among the earliest Europeans to deviate from the idea that images of wildlife should be as accurately representational as possible, and he followed in the arguably more personally expressive footprints left by the earlier oriental artists' depictions of animals, to considerable and highly memorable effect.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF CECIL ALDIN HD 1080p pete beard 2025-10-24 | In his lifetime Cecil Aldin was one of the best known and most admired British illustrators, at a time when the market was positively bursting with other talents. He carved out a place for himself with many books and prints guaranteed to appeal to animal lovers, and had a similar facility for evocations of an England that many in the earlier 20th century were becoming increasingly nostalgic for. I hope you derive as much pleasure from viewing his work as I did when making the video.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF HELEN SEWELL HD 1080p pete beard 2025-10-14 | Helen Sewell is another illustrator who has already featured in the unsung heroes series, but it was only fairly recently that I realised there was much more evidence of her work available, even if almost no actual biography. I haven't by any means included every book she worked on, and there were others for which I couldn't find suitable images, but I flatter myself that it's a fairly comprehensive if admittedly selective overview and timeline of her remarkable career.PS - A more literate viewer than myself has pointed out that it was Charlotte - not Emily - Bronte who wrote Jane Eyre.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF JAMES MONTGOMERY FLAGG HD 1080p pete beard 2025-10-05 | James Montgomery Flagg's iconic World War 1 Uncle Sam recruitment poster is well known in the USA and to a lesser extent in other countries too. But the historical fixation with that particular image has led to quite a lot of his other work, and particularly his humorous illustration being comparatively overlooked. That's a situation I hope this video will remedy, at least to some extent, and introduce viewers to his astonishingly accomplished body of work.
THE ILLUSTRATED POSTERS OF PAUL COLIN HD 1080p pete beard 2025-09-26 | It occurs to me belatedly that it probably wasn't the best idea to follow a video about a French illustrator that not many viewers seem to have had any interest in with another who will probably get a similar level of disregard, but here it is anyway. Paul Colin should not be confused with his namesake, Paul Emile Colin, an artist born some years earlier. The Paul Colin featured here rose to celebrity status in the 1920s and unlike others managed to continue to enjoy yet more success and widespread admiration well into old age. But like many of those I've covered he now receives nothing like the attention his contribution to 20th century graphics deserves.
THE CHILDRENS ILLUSTRATIONS OF FELIX LORIOUX HD 1080p pete beard 2025-09-17 | Unfortunately, Felix lorioux is very poorly served by my usual French sources. Why this would be, given his popularity during his lifetime I have no idea, but it borders on the criminal that he has virtually no biography, and a lot of his images, although of decent resolution are fairly random in their documentation. But he is too important to pass by and we will both have to make appropriate concessions simply for the privilege of viewing his delightful illustrations.
THE FANTASY ILLUSTRATIONS OF THEODOR KITTELSEN HD 1080p pete beard 2025-09-07 | In making this video I used a fairly wide range of sources, which were frequently at odds with each other, so I'm even less sure than usual about some of the dates given. In many cases there is no date at all so guesswork has been somewhat forced on me. And it didn't help that quite a lot of the information had to be translated from Norwegian, an apparently more than usually flexible language. Nevertheless I hope the quality and volume of the pictures shown will make up for these shortcomings.And please note - I'm off to Spain in a couple of days so the next video may well be uploaded a little later than usual. Hasta luego, amigos!
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF EDWARD ARDIZZONE HD 1080p pete beard 2025-08-28 | If you were born some time in the second half of the 20th century in Britain you will almost certainly be familiar with the illustrations of Edward Ardizzone. How well or not he is known beyond these shores I have no idea, but I hope this video brings him to a considerably wider audience. As always this is a selective review of his body of work, and there was a lot more I was obliged to leave out for the sake of relative brevity. If you really want to indulge yourself I heartily recommend this excellent and thorough website.edward-ardizzone-archive.org
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF GEORGES BEUVILLE HD 1080p pete beard 2025-08-18 | Georges Beuville is yet another illustrator I was completely unaware of until a few years ago when I discovered his breathtaking work and instantly became a major admirer. Of course I featured him as an unsung hero but as with others I now feel this didn't do him justice. So here, despite the appalling lack of meaningful information about his life, is my tribute to him and his fascinating body of distinctive images.
THE FANTASY ILLUSTRATIONS OF JOHN R NEILL HD pete beard 2025-08-07 | If you are a regular viewer but haven't subscribed, or don't comment or press the 'like' button, please allow me to beg, plead and implore you to do so, as any/all of those really help to raise the channel profile.John R. Neill is best known by those who know him at all as the primary illustrator of L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz books. But although this means that the work he created in that capacity dominates this video tribute I didn't want to make that the sole topic, so I've just picked out a few examples which I think are of particular interest. And I also wanted to show as much of his less well known work as I could to give a more rounded appraisal. I hope you approve.
THE CHILDRENS ILLUSTRATIONS OF MAI MITURICH HD pete beard 2025-07-29 | If it had not been for the designer and illustrator Iancu Barbărasă I would never have heard of Russian illustrator Mai Miturich, and without his generosity would not have been able to access his large collection of Miturich's work. And once more, despite my lifetime's obsession with the subject here is yet another I had previously never encountered.So hats off to Iancu and I hope you share my opinion that Mai Miturich is a more than worthy subject for the channel.
THE ILLUSTRATED ALBUM COVER HD 1080p pete beard 2025-07-20 | This video has proven to be particularly hard to make, and I came close to abandoning it several times. No doubt I'Il get comments suggesting it might have been better if I had. And yes I know I left out your personal favourite, and I did it just to annoy you. I've also had to play fast and loose with the strict chronology to an extent, in order to accommodate some specific illustrators and bands. But it's an honest if flawed attempt to document the birth, life and near demise of yet another popular art form society at large no longer has any use for.
THE ART & ILLUSTRATIONS OF ELEANOR FORTESCUE BRICKDALE HD 1080p pete beard 2025-07-11 | For those who admire the work of British illustrators from what is generally called the golden age Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale is far from unknown, despite her comparatively small contribution. But for most others she remains a largely unknown figure either as an artist or an illustrator. Nevertheless the work she created in her parallel careers is well worth a closer look as far as I'm concerned, and in her case the only real difference between the two is that the illustrations were created for print rather than exhibition.
FLIEGENDE BLÄTTER HD pete beard 2025-07-02 | In it's 100 year existence I have no idea how many thousands of illustrations were published in the magazine Fliegende Blätter, but it was considerably more than I'm able to include in this video. Consequently it can only be what I hope is a representative selection of illustrations which chronicle the visual evolution of the magazine.Please be warned that in its final years during world war two there were many unpleasant examples of antisemitism in its pages, some of which are included.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF HINKO SMREKAR pete beard 2025-06-22 | If it hadn't been for the website of the national gallery of Slovenia, which I came upon quite by chance, I would never have known about Hinko Smrekar. And although it wasn't the only source I used to make the video it was more than usually helpful with the many images and information to be found there. Smrekar's work doesn't all make easy or comfortable viewing, and his demise was among the more tragic of those I've covered in the series. But I feel privileged to have discovered so much of this particularly obscure illustrator's output to share with you.
UNSUNG HEROES OF ILLUSTRATION 103 pete beard 2025-06-13 | Four more for the collection, all born in the 1880s and 1890s, and all highly distinctive, covering a wide range of stylistic approaches between them.They are:Georges Pavis, Walter Spradbery, Leon Benigni and Robert Riggs.
