ensconsed in his beautiful garrison,
with a smile on his face
as he ages with grace;
a man to whom there is no comparison.
He sits in his Ivory Tower
and reflects on the bird and the flower,
and the animals, too,
for he drew quite a few
as they placed in their deep woodland bower.
When young he acquired the good habit
of drawing the hare, Peter Rabbit
and it brought to his name
quite some measure of fame,
that equaled Bugs Bunny & Br'er Rabbit.
Illustrations he drew
one a day,
fifteen thousand in all,
so they say.
W. Harrison Cady
American Illustrator
1877 - 1970
Here's a link to the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art which hosts an online exhibit of his work.
I didn't know Cady previously, so thank you for introducing him. His artwork (especially the pencil work) is charming and funny in much the same way as his poem. Or is it someone else's poem?
ReplyDeleteAnd he is skilled at accurate renditions of both birds and New Yorkers. What more could you want?
I didnt know of him either, Laura, but he illustrated a Frances Hodgson Burnett book, The Spring Cleaning.... which I read last night ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think the illustrator did pen the verse, even tho' he was not known as a poet.
Oh, well I love Burnett, too (Tasha Tudor versions), so that's a nice link. I realized later that I did know the Thornton Burgess books as well. But his pencil style looked different from those illustrations.
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