The Missing Critical History of Illustration

“How seriously should we take illustration? I pose the question in this potentially offensive way because I often wonder how seriously illustration takes itself… Let me say at once that I have always gained a lot of pleasure from illustration. After studying art history, examining the illustrated image was not a big leap, and my first writing about visual communication in the mid-1980s focused on illustration rather than design. The British illustrators I met at that time were well-read, highly educated, visually sensitive, historically aware individuals who were consciously attempting to challenge received wisdom about the practice and move it forward. This permanently shaped my view of what illustration could be and gave me a set of critical expectations and standards that, allowing for changes in context, I have applied ever since.”

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