By Caroline Delzotti
Warwick Goble was born in Dalston, North London. He studied at the City of London School and displayed an early talent for water coloring. As Goble got older, he contributed his art to many magazines in the 1890s (Wide World, Pearsons, Little Folks). Goble would always search for the local color when traveling, preferring solitude to society. Many of his friends said he would be most happy if he were in contact with no one.
Goble was introduced to Asian art during his travels. Later on in his career Goble’s preferred art style became Japanese and Indian subjects that recalled Edmund Dulac and Rene Bull’s work. The Water Babies (1909) by Charles Kingsley was the first of his classic deluxe volumes in the Macmillan series. A Western illustrator, he was eventually considered second to none in his artistic portrayals of Asian subject matter. Goble died in Surrey soon after his eightieth birthday.
Dora Owen (ed.) and Warwick Goble (ill.), The Book of Fairy Poetry (London/New York: Longmans, Green and co., 1920) Tulane University Special Collections PN6110.F3 O9