Wonderlands: The Illustration Art of Robert Ingpen by Robert Ingpen

Wonderlands: The Illustration Art of Robert Ingpen Reviews

• 
  Andrew

  I make no secret that I am a huge fan of Robert Ingpen and have been ever since I saw his work in the Encyclopaedia of things that never where and have been keeping an eye out for his work ever since - which has not been too challenging since he has illustrated over 100 books over many decades of work.
  
  However I stumbled across this book purely by accident and I cannot describe how quickly I ordered it and it certainly has not disappointed.
  
  So we have have here a celebration of Mr Ingpen's work focusing on many of the works I also own - however there are still plenty of material I have never seen though often referred to. What is more is you have a gentle and honest story of how these images came about from the artist himself.
  
  The book is lavishly published with what I feel is the right balance between word and picture. My only compliant - is that it arrived this morning and I have already finished reading it/
• 
  Lloyd Downey

  I am still in awe of Robert Ingpen's artistic talent. But not only his art: also his productivity, his research and his fidelity to detail. He is a sort of modern combination of NC Wyeth and Arthur Rackham...and I have always loved their illustrations. I guess, it was being exposed to such illustrations in children's books as a child that makes me like his work so much today. I just had a look at the cost of some of his illustrations that are for sale at auction and they seem to be selling for under $400...which seems rather cheap to me...given the quality and fame of the artist. Admittedly , these are not the original works from his published books. ..There is quite a nice text accompanying the various illustrations and one gets a small insight into the way that Ingpen works. (I like his flat-plan layout page). But I really would have liked to see more pictures of Ingpen himself at work and heard more from him about his technique. He mentions watercolour and tempera but I'm not sure if he has used crayon or oils with some of his works. Certainly, with his teddy bear picture he has used pencil and pastel. So he is obviously adept with a range of materials.
  I first came across his work when I was with the CSIRO and I kept some of the magazines of years.....not sure whether I still have some. And I must say, that I was amused to see in his story of the Poppycock that he refers to his characters as Hairy Peruvians. I wonder if it is because (as he says) he saw dolls like this in a museum in Peru.....or because there is a variety of subterranean Clover called "Hairy Peruvian".... because it does have hairs and it comes from Peru. I think the CSIRO was working with newly introduced species like these in the 1960's. Anyway, I feel some affinity with Ingpen because of this shared experience with the CSIRO and agriculture. I seem to remember some illustrations of sub-clover varieties...almost certainly done by Ingpen. (I think there were issues with high oestrogen content of some of these clovers ..and they were messing up the reproductive cycles of sheep). The book is beautifully put together...very balanced and, as one would expect, superbly illustrated. Five stars from me.
• 
  Michael Reilly

  Robert Ingpen notes in Wonderland that his illustrative approach is to build “imaginative spaces” where the viewer can create their own storylines from the words and images displayed on the page. Ingpen’s illustrations certainly provide this creative opportunity and a great deal more, providing rich story threads from both his sublime composition skills and striking textural techniques, inviting interpretation and personal meaning along with direct correlation to the author’s intentions.
  
  Neatly presented, Wonderland features work from Ingpen’s own published books and those for other Australian authors, together with fantastic illustrations (and sketches) from the numerous classic stories he illustrated, plus the expansive Children’s Classics series. Ingpen’s images fill most pages, with accompanying short descriptions and notes from the artist adding context and interesting production details.
  
  Fans of children’s books, classic stories and illustration will certainly appreciate the craft and lifelong dedication of this great storyteller and illustrator: a lifetime of impressive output in words and images.
• 
  Linda Weeks

  A stunning capture of classic tales illustrated by an inspiring uber-talented Australian.
  
  Fascinating insights to not only the original story inspirations, but also the way a creative imagination grabs hold of, and expands, well-known tales.