The Art of Illustration

An influential teacher whose pen-and-ink drawings helped define the style of the early twentieth century, Edmund J. Sullivan sought to define the principles behind good illustration. His treatise ― richly illustrated with black-and-white engravings by Holbein, Dürer, Rubens, Blake, and many others ― also offers suggestions on materials and methods.

Sullivan, who came of age during the heyday of graphic design and book illustration, was a firm believer in free but faithful artistic interpretations. In The Art of Illustration, he conducts a fascinating journey through art history that ranges back and forth in time from his contemporaries — including Beardsley, Doré, and Whistler — to Botticelli and other old masters. Sullivan's knowledgeable and informative discourse covers symbolism, cartoons, the use of models, the illustration of poetry and plays, children's books, and a host of other topics of enduring interest to artists and art lovers.