Key Information
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Crane, Walter
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1845-1915
History
Born Liverpool, 15 Aug 1845; died Horsham, Sussex, 14 Mar 1915. British illustrator, designer, painter, writer, and administrator.
His career was very varied, but he is best remembered today as an illustrator of children's books, a field in which he was prolific throughout his life. He took this work very seriously, believing that ‘We all remember the little cuts that coloured the books of our childhood. The ineffaceable quality of these early pictorial and literary impressions affords the strongest plea for good art in the nursery and the schoolroom.’
His work for adults included designing wallpaper, and he was a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement that tried to rehabilitate good design and craftsmanship. He was greatly interested in art education, serving on various examination boards; in the 1890s he taught in Manchester and Reading, and in 1898–9 he was principal of the Royal College of Art. He was also Assessor for Diplomas, scholarships and bursaries (Design) at GSA in the 1911/1912 and 1912/1913 sessions.