Reginald Bathurst Birch
Encyclopedia
Reginald Bathurst Birch (May 2, 1856 – June 17, 1943) was an English-American artist and illustrator. He was best known for his depiction of the titular hero of Frances Hodgson Burnett
's 1886 novel Little Lord Fauntleroy
, which started a craze in juvenile fashion. While his illustrative corpus has eclipsed his other work, he was also an accomplished painter of portraits and landscapes.
while his father was in India.
He moved to San Francisco, California
with his parents in 1870. Afterward he was naturalized as a citizen of the United States.
Birch married twice and had two children, a son and a daughter. The son, Rodney Bathurst Birch, was an early film actor.
Birch died at the age of eighty-seven of congestive heart failure at the Home for Incurables in the Bronx
, New York. His body was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York.
, who allowed him to use his studio and helped further his artistic education. From 1873 to 1881 Birch studied and worked in Europe, attending the Royal Academy in Munich and illustrating various publications in Vienna, Paris, and Rome. On his return to the United States he took up residence in New York City, where he became a magazine illustrator. His work appeared in St. Nicholas
, the Century, Harper's, Life, and The Youth's Companion, among other publications. He also became a founding member of the Society of Illustrators in New York.
His first great success was his illustration of Frances Hodgson Burnett
's children's book Little Lord Fauntleroy
(1886), whose young protagonist's long, curly hair and velvet and lace suit were widely imitated by mothers as a pattern of dress for their little boys. Birch's name was indellibly associated with Burnett's protagonist forever after, rather to the illustrator's irritation. During the period of his initial popularity he illustrated over forty books, many of which, along with his drawings, had initially seen publication in serial form. These included more of Burnett's children's books, notably Sara Crewe
(1888).
Demand for Birch's work faded after 1914, and by the 1930s he was living in poverty. His career was revived in 1933 by his illustrations for Louis Untermeyer's The Last Pirate, and he went on to illustrate about twenty additional books before retired by failing eyesight about 1941. Reginald Birch—His Book, a retrospective collection of works he had illustrated by various authors, was published in 1939 by Harcourt, Brace and Company.
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
's 1886 novel Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's in 1886...
, which started a craze in juvenile fashion. While his illustrative corpus has eclipsed his other work, he was also an accomplished painter of portraits and landscapes.
Life and family
Birch was born May 2, 1856 in London, England, the son of British army officer William Alexander Birch and Isabella (Hoggins) Birch. During his childhood he lived for a time with his paternal grandfather on the Isle of JerseyJersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
while his father was in India.
He moved to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
with his parents in 1870. Afterward he was naturalized as a citizen of the United States.
Birch married twice and had two children, a son and a daughter. The son, Rodney Bathurst Birch, was an early film actor.
Birch died at the age of eighty-seven of congestive heart failure at the Home for Incurables in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York. His body was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York.
Career
Birch's artistic talent first emerged in San Francisco, where he helped his father prepare wood-block theatrical posters. He soon attracted a patron in painter Toby Edward RosenthalToby Edward Rosenthal
Toby Edward Rosenthal was an American painter.-Biography:Moving to San Francisco with his parents in 1855, he there studied painting under Fortunato Arriola. In 1865 he went to Munich, where he was a pupil of the Royal Academy under Strachuber, Karl Raupp and Karl Theodor von Piloty...
, who allowed him to use his studio and helped further his artistic education. From 1873 to 1881 Birch studied and worked in Europe, attending the Royal Academy in Munich and illustrating various publications in Vienna, Paris, and Rome. On his return to the United States he took up residence in New York City, where he became a magazine illustrator. His work appeared in St. Nicholas
St. Nicholas Magazine
St. Nicholas Magazine was a popular children's magazine, founded by Scribner's in 1873. The first editor was Mary Mapes Dodge, who continued her association with the magazine until her death in 1905. Dodge published work by the country's best writers, including Louisa May Alcott, Francis Hodgson...
, the Century, Harper's, Life, and The Youth's Companion, among other publications. He also became a founding member of the Society of Illustrators in New York.
His first great success was his illustration of Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
's children's book Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's in 1886...
(1886), whose young protagonist's long, curly hair and velvet and lace suit were widely imitated by mothers as a pattern of dress for their little boys. Birch's name was indellibly associated with Burnett's protagonist forever after, rather to the illustrator's irritation. During the period of his initial popularity he illustrated over forty books, many of which, along with his drawings, had initially seen publication in serial form. These included more of Burnett's children's books, notably Sara Crewe
A Little Princess
A Little Princess is a 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine.According to Burnett, she...
(1888).
Demand for Birch's work faded after 1914, and by the 1930s he was living in poverty. His career was revived in 1933 by his illustrations for Louis Untermeyer's The Last Pirate, and he went on to illustrate about twenty additional books before retired by failing eyesight about 1941. Reginald Birch—His Book, a retrospective collection of works he had illustrated by various authors, was published in 1939 by Harcourt, Brace and Company.
General references
- Biography Index: a cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Vol. 2: August, 1949-August, 1952. Vol. 3: September, 1952-August, 1955. Vol. 5: September, 1958-August, 1961. Vol. 12: September, 1979-August, 1982. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1953, 1956, 1962, 1983.
- Carpenter, Humphrey, and Prichard, Mari. The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1984.
- Current Biography Yearbook. 1943 ed. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1943.
- Dawdy, Doris Ostrander. Artists of the American West: a biographical dictionary. Vol. I. Chicago: Sage Books/Swallow Press, 1974.
- Dictionary of American Biography. Suppl. 3. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.
- Falk, Peter Hastings, ed. Who Was Who in American Art: compiled from the original thirty-four volumes of American Art Annual: Who's Who in Art, Biographies of American Artists Active from 1898-1947. Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1985.
- Falk, Peter Hastings, ed. Who Was Who in American Art. 400 years of artists in America. 2nd ed. Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999
- Kunitz, Stanley J., and Haycraft, Howard., eds. The Junior Book of Authors. 2nd ed., rev. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1951.
- Mahoney, Bertha E., and Whitney, Elinor. Contemporary Illustrators of Children's Books. Boston: Bookshop for Boys and Girls, 1930.
- The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 11. New York: James T. White & Co., 1901.
- Reed, Walt. The Illustrator in America, 1900-1960's. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1966.
- Reed, Walt, and Reed, Roger. The Illustrator in America, 1880-1980: a century of illustration. New York: Madison Square Press, 1984.
- Shaw, John Mackay. Childhood in Poetry: a catalogue, with biographical and critical annotations, of the books of English and American poets comprising the Shaw Childhood in Poetry Collection in the Library of the Florida State University. 1st ed. 1st suppl. 2nd suppl. Detroit: Gale Research, 1967, 1972, 1976.
- Something about the Author: facts and pictures about authors and illustrators of books for young people. Vol. 19. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980.
- Who Was Who in America: a companion biographical reference work to Who's Who in America. Vol. 2, 1943-1950. Chicago: A.N. Marquis Co., 1963.