Illustrators bring Warhol, Dali and Pollock back to life

Illustrators Andrew Rae and Peter Arkle have worked alongside author Catherine Ingram in a bid to bring the stories of the artists’ lives to a younger audience.

Angus Hyland of Pentagram, who is also Laurence King’s art director, has overseen the process.

Rae, of the Peepshow collective, has worked on the Dali and Warhol books and Arkle on the Pollock book. They all share a cartoonish explanatory quality and are filled with illustrated facts and images of the artists’ works.

There’s a lovely page on Dali trying his hand as a designer, an episode which saw him come up with shoes with springs, mirrored fingernails that let you admire yourself on the go, and best of all a see-through mannequin filled with water and swimming goldfish.

The Dali book tells the story of his life, explores the meaning of his Surrealist paintings, looks at Surrealism as a way of life and his commercial work – which includes jewellery design and the creation of the Chupa Chups lollipops logo. 

This is Warhol explains Warhol’s journey from commercial artist to society portrait painter.

Rae’s illustrations of Warhol take in the artist’s childhood in Pittsburgh, his Manhatten Mansion and The Silver Factory.

This is Pollock shines a light on how his work became a weapon in the Cold War, by representing America as a free democratic nation.

The first three titles, This is Dali, This is Warhol and This is Pollock are published in May by Laurence King.