The Age of Enchantment: Beardsley, Dulac and their Contemporaries

With the death of Aubrey Beardsley in 1898, the world of the illustrated book underwent a dramatic and exciting change. A new generation of artist-illustrators emerged, intent upon borrowing from the past, especially the fantasies of the rococo and the ethereal fairy worlds of the Victorians, as well as drawing increasingly on the lavish colour of the Ballets Russes, the modern design aesthetic of Art Deco, and rich decorative influences of the British Empire.Beginning with the fin de siècle masterpieces of Beardsley, and concluding with the late imperial exotica of the inter-war era, The Age of Enchantment reveals the fascinating and delightful world of British fantasy illustration over four decades. It includes the masters of this new form, Edmund Dulac, Kay Nielsen and Arthur Rackham, and their many disciples and influences: Laurence Housman, Charles Ricketts, Sidney Sime, Harry Clarke, Bernard Sleigh, Jessie King, Annie French, Charles Robinson, Maurice and Edward Detmold, Willy Pogany, Alastair, Leon Bakst, Daisy Makeig-Jones and Sir Frank Brangwyn. Fine in slipcase