Mary Shepard
Mary Eleanor Jessie Knox née Shepard (25 December 1909 – 4 September 2000)[1] was an English illustrator of children's books. She is best known for the Mary Poppins stories written by P. L. Travers (1934 to 1988).[2] She used her married name Mary Knox outside the publishing industry.[1]
Mary Shepard | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 December 1909 |
| Died | 4 September 2000 (aged 90) |
| Nationality | British |
| Notable work | Mary Poppins |
| Spouse | E. V. Knox |
| Children | Penelope Fitzgerald (step-daughter) |
| Parent |
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| Relatives |
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Life and career
She was the daughter of E. H. Shepard, a famous illustrator of children's literature including Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne in the 1920s and a 1931 edition of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. She was the illustrator for the U.S. publisher Lippincot's 1937 edition of Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransome.[3]
Shepard graduated from the Slade School of Art. She was 23 when her father was too busy to illustrate Mary Poppins and Travers discovered her work on a Christmas card.[1]
She married E. V. Knox, 28 years her senior, in 1937. He was editor of Punch and father of the writer Penelope Fitzgerald.[1][2][4]
Death
Shepard died on 4 September 2000, at the age of 90.
References
- "Mary Shepard Dies at 90; 'Mary Poppins' Illustrator". The New York Times. 2 October 2000. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
- "Mary Shepard: Putting Mary Poppins in the picture". The Times. London. 20 October 2000. p. 25.
- "Shepard, Mary E." www.worldcat.org. WorldCat.
- "Mary Shepard; Illustrated Mary Poppins Books". Los Angeles Times. 3 October 2000. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
External links
- Mary Shepard at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Mary Shepard at Library of Congress, with 27 library catalogue records (primarily under 'Shepard, Mary, 1909–' without '2000', previous page of browse report)