1931 rare Ida Rentoul Outhwaite framed bookplate, Fairyland

Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, They Kissed Farewell at the Chateau Gate, 1931, period colour bookplate from the first UK edition of Fairyland, published by A. & C. Black, London, presented under glass with a wide cream mount in a substantial gilt timber frame. Framed by the monumental stone archway of a fairy-tale château, the quietly affectionate figures and subdued blue-grey palette create a wonderfully atmospheric scene of romance, adventure and storybook mystery.

52cm x 45cm frame

23cm x 20cm artwork 

Artist biography

Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888–1960) was a Melbourne-born illustrator and one of the most celebrated Australian artists of the golden age of children’s book illustration. Encouraged by an artistic and literary family, she began publishing illustrations while still a teenager and frequently collaborated with her elder sister, writer Annie Rattray Rentoul. Her lavish 1916 publication Elves and Fairies brought her considerable recognition, and following a successful European visit in 1920 she exhibited in London and Paris and entered into a publishing relationship with A. & C. Black. Outhwaite became renowned for exquisitely detailed fairies, elves and enchanted landscapes executed principally in pen and ink and watercolour, developing an imaginative world that combined European fairy-tale traditions with Australian sensibilities. Her work is now held in major Australian collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria and National Gallery of Australia.