Kate Greenaway

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! And Happy Birthday Kate Greenaway!! English illustrator, Kate Greenaway was born in 1846. Her father was an engraver, her mother a seamstress. Greenaway was educated at home by various women. She was a daydreamer who was hard-pressed to leave her childhood. She often doodled and drew instead of working on her lessons. She loved flowers and gardens, especially well kept “tidy” ones. At age eighteen, Kate did attend Slade School and then Heatherley’s School of Art to study anatomy and drawing. Her father’s influence helped advance her career and her mother’s costumes and creations made appearances in the children Greenaway drew. Book covers, cards and calendars gradually expanded into illustrated children’s books, and Greenaway became quite popular. The illustration below is called May Day.