Kate Greenaway Kate Greenaway's Book of Games
Kate Greenaway's Almanack

Kate Greenaway, born on March 17, 1846, still stands as one of the most popular British illustrators of the late 19th century with her images of sweet children, flowers, and quaint sketches of landscapes. Her popularity began when she published Christmas cards and soon she was illustrating her own verse as well as the work of others.

Her first book, Under the Window, was published in 1879. She took her career seriously, dedicating 8:00 am–1:00 pm daily to her work. Often she drew from child models or mannequins dressed in outfits she sewed and designed herself. After much of her early work was plagiarized, she made it a rule not to part with the copyrights of her drawings, selling only the rights to the work and keeping the original art.

In England, in 1955, the Kate Greenaway Medal was established to honor “distinguished illustration in a book for children.” 

Kate Greenaway died in 1901.

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