Edmund+Dulac+(1882-1953)

Edmund Dulac switched to the Art School in his native Toulouse and later studied at the Academie Julian in Paris. He held annual shows at London's Leicester Galleries from 1907 to 1918 (with his drawings for the Arabian Nights holding pre-eminence). By 1912 he had settled permanently in London as a British subject. Dulac's inspiration was primarily oriental, with extravagant color harmonies reminiscent of Persian miniatures. Yet such seemingly disparate elements as the sinuous curves of Aubrey Beardsley, the flat, bold tones and flowing drapery of the newly popularized Japanese prints and the disembodied expressions preferred by the Pre-Raphaelites also blended aesthetically. Like his rival, Arthur Rackham, to whom he was fifteen years junior, Dulac contributed generously to fund-raising publications during World War II and became identified with the sumptuous, if ponderous and expensive, `coffee-table volumes with mounted color plates. His many-faceted artistry was revealed in portraits, caricatures (including wax dolls, one of which, Sir Thomas Beecham, is owned by the London Museum), stage sets and costumes for the theater. Other designs included a Free French banknote, several British and French postage stamps (the regular issue of George VI and the Coronation Commemorative of 1937), the King's Poetry Prize Medal, and a variety of playing cards.

'As she rose up through the clouds there passed one she knew by his tail to be Dahnash'
Princess Badoura, A Tale from the Arabian Nights HODDER & STOUGHTON 1913

And her Godmother pointed to the finest of all with her wand
The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales HODDER & STOUGHTON 1913

Ah! What a fright you gave me! She murmured
The Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales HODDER & STOUGHTON 1913

In her frantic struggles, the hood of her cloak fell back from her dazzling hair, and immediately the whole place was flooded with light.
Edmund Dulac's Fairy Book HODDER & STOUGHTON 1916

The Prince took a carriage drawn by three great frogs with great wings...Fruitonni came ouit mysteriously by a little door.
The Blue Bird Edmund Dulac's Fairy Book HODDER & STOUGHTON 1916

The Palace of the Dragon King.
The Story of Bashtchelik Edmund Dulac's Fairy Book HODDER & STOUGHTON 1916

The Eagle in the great forest flew swiftly, but the Eastwind flew more swiftly still.
Stories from Hans Anderson HODDER & STOUGHTON 1911

His limbs were numbed, his beautiful eyes were closing, and he must have died if the little mermaid had not come to the rescue.
Stories from Hans Anderson HODDER & STOUGHTON 1911