[Children's & Illustrated] [Rackham, Arthur] Proposed Cover Art for the Westminster Budget.

No place, (but likely London), no date (ca. 1893-1904). Original unsigned ink sketch on paper attributed to Arthur Rackham, possibly a proposal for a cover for the British newspaper, the Westminster Budget. 13 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. (343 x 260 mm). The image depicts a woman in period Victorian dress, perhaps curtseying, amid copies of the paper and the words "Politics", "Literature", "Science", "Art", "Drama", "Home" and "Foreign News". Notation in an unknown hand, bottom left, possibly "Thurs. Wed. of _____". Creases from when previously folded; a few spots of foxing. Mounted to mat, in frame 20 3/4 x 17 3/4 in.

The Westminster Budget was a British newspaper published in London between 1893 and 1904. Arthur Rackham worked for the paper from its inception, as an illustrator and reporter, although he quickly found the illustrator role not what he had hoped for. The editors regularly demanded short deadlines for his sketches which eliminated the possibility for the careful and methodical artwork Rackham preferred. Although stressful, he would later reflect that his time at the Westminster Budget provided him valuable practice, and ultimately prepared him for his later and very successful career.

Provenance

From the Children’s and Illustrated Books Library of Nicholas Wedge, Ossining, New York