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All work : Barbara Firth [Biography]

Barbara Firth

Barbara Firth

Barbara Firth achieved success relatively late in life with her rich, warm, evocative illustrations for children's books, the most successful being the classic 'Can't you sleep, Little Bear?' written by Martin Waddell.
Firth grew up in Cheshire and although encouraged in her art at school she never studied it and she delighted in this lack of training. 'I have been very lucky, as my career in drawing is also my favourite hobby.'

After training in pattern cutting at the school of Fashion, Firth was offered a job in Marks and Spencer's design department, but she turned it down in favour of a position at Vogue, where she worked for 15 years as a production director on knitting, crocheting and dressmaking books. She then worked in production for Marshall Cavendish books, as well as supplying freelance illustrations and it was there that she met Amelia Edwards, one of the founders and the first creative director of the children's publisher Walker Books. Firth's career as an illustrator started to flourish, 'My style started to get more lively, now I can ve too exuberant, but once I'd found it was acceptable to draw in that way, there was no holding me.'

Though she was a very private person, Barbara knew much about people, animals, and the world, and she shared her knowledge with deep feeling and sensibility. Generations of children have loved , and will love, her books; and her long collaboration with Martin W
Waddell brought a joyful richness - at once emotional and comical - to story times across the world.

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