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    Home » Homemaking » Home Decor

    Arthur Rackham Illustration Wall Art

    July 25, 2022 by Julie 2 Comments

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    Arthur Rackham Illustration Wall Art. Six different photos of Arthur Rackham's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations framed and hanging on my wall in my dining room.
    Arthur Rackham Illustration Wall Art. Two different photos of Arthur Rackham's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations framed and hanging on my wall in my dining room.
    Arthur Rackham Illustration Wall Art. A photo of Arthur Rackham's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations framed and hanging on my wall in my dining room.
    Arthur Rackham Illustration Wall Art. Four different photos of Arthur Rackham's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations framed and hanging on my wall in my dining room.

    If you love vintage book illustrations I would love to formally introduce you to Arthur Rackham. I chose his renditions of Alice in Wonderland to grace the walls of my dining room. Today I'm going to show how I used Arthur Rackham illustrations as wall art in my own home. And how you can too!

    Two vintage Arthur Rackham illustrations in floating gold frames hanging on a dark blue wall in my dining room. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations.
    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy here.

    Create an Art Print of Beautiful Illustrations by Renowned English Book Illustrator

    There are a few illustrators from the Golden Age of British Book illustration that really stand out. Arthur Rackham's illustrations are noted for their pen and ink drawings, combined with the use of watercolor. Which is a technique he developed due to his background as a journalistic illustrator.

    You can purchase his beautiful work in as expensive prints like on a canvas print, or even as a wall calendar. But today I want to show you a cheaper alternative by creating Arthur Rackham wall art made easy with a few free printables.

    Although he has hundreds of gorgeous watercolor illustrations to choose from, this post will be emphasizing his Alice's Adventures in Wonderland works.

    Ikea Acrylic gold floating frames with vintage Arthur Rackham illustrations from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Illustrations by Arthur Rackham in gold vintage inspired floating frames from IKEA.
    Picking only 4 out of the 14 available Rackham illustrations was the hardest part of this project.

    Watch Me Frame and Hang These Beautiful Arthur Rackham Prints in My Dining Room

    Vintage Arthur Rackham Illustrations

    During his career, he illustrated many works, though he is best known for his rendition of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by J.M.Barrie.

    I recently picked up a copy of A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne with several works of fairy tale illustration throughout.

    A few of his other more popular works include

    • Rip Van Winkle & Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
    • Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
    • Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
    • Mother Goose: The old Nursery Rhyme by Charles Perrault
    • Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
    • Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
    • Aesops Fables by Aesop
    • The Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Alfred W. Pollard
    • English Fairy Tales by Flora Annie Steel
    • Siegfried & the Twilight of the Gods by Cosima Wagner
    • The Springtide of Life: Poems of Childhood by Algernon Charles Swinburne
    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Arthur Rackham, vintage illustrations hanging on my dining room wall in IKEA acrylic vintage floating frames.

    Supplies

    The supply list is quite small for these DIY Wall Art Prints of Rackham's illustrations. Therefore making this charming DIY decor all the more enticing.

    • Vintage Style Glass Floating Frames
    • PDF Printables of Arthur Rackham's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Illustrations
    • Scissors or Guillotine Paper Cutter
    • Double Sided Tape
    • Deco Hooks

    Step One - Subscribe to Download the 14 Free PDF Art Prints - Available in 2 Different Sizes

    To download these Free PDF Arthur Rackham illustrated prints simply follow these instructions:

    1. Enter your email address in the box below.
    2. Then hit the button "Subscribe to Access the Library".
    3. Check your email account. You will receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription.
    4. The email includes the private password to join the exclusive Wonderland Subscriber's Library.
    5. Hit the button to Confirm. This is a link directly to the Library where you can download all the goodies!
    14 Print options of Arthur Rackham's Vintage Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations in color, 8x11 option.
    8x11 Option - 14 Different Illustrations Included
    14 Print options of Arthur Rackham's Vintage Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations in color, 5x7 option.
    5x7 Option - 14 Different Illustrations Included
      Built with ConvertKit

      Inside the Wonderland Subscriber's Library, you will find dozens of exclusive Free Printables, Vintage Artist Prints, Ebooks, and Resources at your fingertips.

      Alice and the deck of cards, Alice at the tea party with the mad hatter and march Hare. Two vintage illustrations by Arthur Rackham hanging in vintage style gold frames on my dining room wall.

      Step Two - Printing Instructions for the Free PDF Art Prints

      While Arthur Rackham has literally hundreds of gorgeous illustrations, today I'm focusing on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll.

      I have always been an avid fan of Alice and Lewis Caroll's works. And I believe these will be gorgeous hanging in my dining room.

      Screenshot of a print screen printing out the 8x11 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations by Arthur Rackham.
      8x11 - 1 full page print out
      Screenshot of a print screen printing out the 5x7 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations by Arthur Rackham.
      5x7 - 2 prints per page

      Print Instructions for the 8x11" & 5x7" Arthur Rackham Art Prints

      1. Open the file in Adobe Acrobat.
      2. Settings: Hit "Size", Select "Shrink Oversize Pages", Portrait.
      3. Choose to print in color.
      4. Print one page at a time to ensure quality and settings are correct.
      Arthur Rackham Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations in Adobe Acrobat preparing to be printed out.
      5x7 Option - 2 Prints per page
      Arthur Rackham Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations in Adobe Acrobat preparing to be printed out. Alice and the deck of cards flying in the air above her head.
      8x11 Option - Full Page Print

      Note: I recommend printing them on 80 lb cardstock, but they work great on any type of paper. Also, if you were to print on high-quality matte photo paper they would look spectacular. However, I didn't have any on hand.

      Step Three - Framing Your Arthur Rackham Art Prints

      There are hundreds of framing options to create gorgeous, charming, vintage wall art. However, I had the privilege of purchasing a few beautiful gold floating frames from IKEA this year.

      Alice and the Dodo and other animals talking after her swimming through the pool of tears. A vintage illustration by renowned artist Arthur Rackham from the late 1800s. Framed in a vintage floating frame from IKEA.
      • Lerboda Frame, 6 ¼x6 ¼ " (too small for even the 5x7, but still an option if you adjust the print settings to print them out smaller)
      • Lerboda Frame, gold, 7 ¾x9 ¾ " (the size I am using)

      If you don't have an IKEA available (mine is 4 hours away!) and cannot ship them to you, these TLBTEK Brass Hanging Photo Frames look to be a similar style and size.

      Alice and the deck of cards and the Tea party with the Mad Hatter and March Hare. Two vintage illustrations by Arthur Rackham in vintage style metal floating frames hanging on my wall in my dining room.

      How to Frame Your Arthur Rackham Art Prints

      1. Cut out your art prints using either sharp scissors or a guillotine paper cutter.
      2. Use a small piece of double-sided tape to attach it to the back glass of your floating frame.
      3. Close the frame up and admire your beautiful new art!

      Step Four - Hanging Your Arthur Rackham Art Print as Wall Decor

      I already had my hanging spot chosen before I even printed these beautiful prints out. After having recently renovated my dining room I knew I needed just the right art for the walls.

      Arthur Rackham illustrated Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Those two illustrations of the deck of cards and tea party hang above a stack of vintage picnic baskets in my dining room.

      If you're only hanging one then there isn't much to consider. However, if you plan to hang multiples or even a gallery wall you may want to put some consideration into the process before you start making holes in the wall!

      Alice tea party and deck of cards illustrations by Arthur Rackham as wall art in my dining room.

      How to Quickly & Easily Hang Multiple Pieces of Art on the Wall

      1. First, choose the place your art will be displayed.
      2. Then, measure for symmetrical placement, width, and height of the spot.
      3. Also, don't forget to mark your spot lightly with a pencil.
      4. Then trace the frames onto paper and cut out those tracings.
      5. Use the tracings to arrange proper placement on the wall.
      6. Don't forget to include measurements for the chain, if it applies.

      A Short Bio of Arthur Rackham: A Great Artist

      Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was born in London as one of 12 children.

      Arthur Rackham illustration as a self portrait painted by himself.

      In 1884, at the age of 17, he was sent on an ocean voyage to Australia to improve his fragile health, accompanied by two aunts.[2] At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying part-time at the Lambeth School of Art.[3]

      In 1892, he left his job and started working for the Westminster Budget as a reporter and illustrator.

      Wikipedia

      Finally published in 1893, his first book illustrations were in, To the Other Side by Thomas Rhodes. He was widely known as an accomplished black-and-white book illustrator for the sheer skill of his work. Among a few other leading illustrators of the same era.

      But it was the publication of his full color illustrations to Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle by Heinemann in 1905 that ultimately brought him to public attention.

      The following year J.M.Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens finally confirmed his reputation.

      A variety of publications and exhibitions spotlighted his works. One particularly impressive exhibition was at the Louvre in Paris in 1914.

      Ultimately Arthur Rackham died of cancer in his home in 1939. The world lost a tremendously talented artist known for his fantasy illustration that day.

      Alice talking to the animals in a vintage arthur rackham illustration framed on my wall.

      FAQ

      What Did Arthur Rackham Illustrate?

      Arthur Rackham illustrated 90 volumes in his lifetime with the last one (The Wind in the Willows) being published posthumously in 1940.

      Some of his most renowned works include Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Rip Van Winkle.

      How Many Books Did Arthur Rackham Illustrate?

      Arthur Rackham illustrated 90 volumes in his lifetime including the works of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, James Barrie, and Lewis Carroll. His last one (The Wind in the Willows) was published posthumously in 1940.

      What Techniques Did Arthur Rackham Use?

      Arthur Rackham's illustrations are noted for their pen and ink drawings, combined with the use of watercolor, not unlike a photographic reproduction. Which is a technique he developed due to his background as a journalistic illustrator.

      When Was the Golden Age of Illustration?

      The abundance and popularity of illustrated magazines and books between 1850 and 1925 are referred to as The Golden Age of Illustration.

      In this Golden Age, American publishings were dripping with artwork that gave the public a great wealth of both information and entertainment.

      Is Arthur Rackham Public Domain?

      Yes. Arthur Rackham's illustrated works became a part of the public domain in 2010 along with works by Sigmund Freud, WB Yeats, and Ford Madox Ford.

      Alice in her pool of tears by arthur rackham. Vintage illustrations framed as wall art on my dining room walls.

      Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope I have inspired you in some small way to find those lesser-known artists in the public domain. Just because they were from long ago does not mean that their work cannot be appreciated and used in our homes today.

      This is just the first of many I hope to spotlight and share with you.

      Julie

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      Comments

      1. Julie

        July 29, 2022 at 9:49 am

        Loving the contrast between the prints and the dark wall color!

        Reply
        • Julie

          July 29, 2022 at 6:12 pm

          Thank you! Me too!

          Reply

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      Hi, I'm Julie! Mother to five beautiful kids, Homeschool Educator, Handicraft & DIY enthusiast, lover of Music & Poetry, Photographer, and aspiring Minimalist. Follow along for fun projects to help create a handmade home on a budget! Read more about me here→

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