Dog Illustrators Capture the Canine Spirit

Small children, horses, dogs -- can't resist vintage books with illustrations of these. Today, the subject is dogs. Many children’s books illustrators have their favorite dogs – Tasha Tudor is known for curious Corgis.



Bessie Pease Gutman’s little collies are as adorable as her babies.




Marguerite Kirmse (1885-1954) was one of America’s most noted canine artists. Her favorite breed was Scotties, but she was well known for her etchings of Pointers. I particularly like her collies when she teamed up with Albert Payson Terhune. In images, she captured the personality, intelligence and beauty of the breed that Terhune conveyed in his stories.




Wesley Dennis is more known for the horses he illustrated for Marguerite Henry’s books. "This artist saw beyond hide and hair and bone. You could see that he understood and loved animals, that he was trying to capture their spirit, personality and expression,” Henry said of Dennis’s work. They also collaborated on the Book of Dogs, which includes really charming images of puppies and dogs of varying breeds.



Ruth Wright Paulsen collaborates with her husband on many books including Puppies, Dogs and Blue Northers. I like the soft textures in her huskies as they sleep in pink and blue snow fields.