Artwork of the Week - 27th January 2015

Margaret Tarrant - The Boat to Fairyland

Margaret Tarrant is the latest artist to join Union Art and we are delighted to introduce her work to you. We're sure you will recognise her artwork and maybe like us, her work will bring back some fond childhood  memories. Margaret was an English illustrator and children's author, she specialised in fairies and religious pictures.

Margaret was born in 1888 in south London, the daughter of landscape painter Percy Tarrant and Sarah Wyatt Tarrant. She studied art at the Clapham School of Art, Heatherley's School of Art and Guildford School of Art. She won several prizes for her drawing whilst studying art.

In the 1920s, Margaret Tarrant helped to popularise fairies in a long-running series of titles on the theme such as The Forest Fairies, The Pond Fairies, and The Twilight Fairies.  It was also at this time that she established a long association with the Medici Society.  Many of her postcards, calendars, and children's books were published by them and still are today. The Medici gave her wide exposure and made her a much loved figure for her illustrations.

The Boat to Fairyland is a great example of Margaret's typical style and subject matter. The whimsical and romanticised style of her work is captivating, it inspires the imagination of people of all ages. To view the full collection of Prints by Margaret Tarrant, published by Medici, go to UnionArt.co.uk.