Happy Day After St. Patrick’s Day – Illustrators Named ‘Neill’ Edition

I forgot St. Patrick’s day. But I remembered all-Trump, all-the-time is dull. And some people like my pen-and-ink posts. So let’s celebrate a pair of illustrators named ‘Neill’, or nearly.

First, Rose O’Neill. American born. She’s famous/not-famous. She invented Kewpies. Major breakthrough in cuteness technology, making her hugely wealthy through sale of toys. She was also a writer and active suffragette. And those things came together.

But here’s the good stuff, pen-and-ink-wise. She also produced what she called her ‘sweet monster’ art, which is really very striking, to my eye. And I don’t think many folks know of it. Some of it Irish mythology-inflected, but all of it with a powerful swirling flow, which is also one of the features that makes kewpies so cute.

And:

And those things come together as well: the kewpies and kelpies and powerfully-foreheaded monsters and whatever-they-are.

Moving right along: John R. Neill. Again, you may know him without knowing him. He illustrated Oz. And he did some impressively elaborate pen-and-ink work.

Here’s one that might work for St. Patrick’s day and for the Republican Party.