Illus. Robert Ingpen

Awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1986 for his work as a children’s illustrator, Australian artist Robert Ingpen has enjoyed a career rich with unusual opportunities and published over 100 books. ...

Born in 1936, he grew up in Victoria where his father ran a market supply business and his mother was a milliner. The young Robert’s creativity was sparked by the storytelling of a neighbour who encouraged him to use his imagination ‘without fear’, and further encouraged by an art teacher who provided scope for him to explore his talents. Ingpen went on to study art and book illustration at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, graduating in 1958 with a full understanding of every aspect of producing a book and having supplemented his education by spending time with a lithographic printer.

Soon after graduation he took a placement with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, where he spent a decade creating images that conveyed the results of their work. During this time he also created the Land Research Mural for their new Black Mountain laboratories in Canberra and travelled to Mexico and Peru with the United Nations to design pamphlets on fisheries.

After turning freelance in 1968 Ingpen expanded his interest in conservation, helping to establish the Australian Conservation Foundation and working on books on that topic, as well as history, fiction and children’s books – including dozens that he wrote himself.

Other commissions have seen him turn his hand to designing postage stamps and the flag and coat of arms for the Northern Territory, works in bronze, a tapestry for the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the Dromkeen Medal for Children’s Literature.

More recently Ingpen has illustrated a range of children’s classics, bringing his skill at conveying a sense of character to titles such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and created a seven-panel mural, ‘The Magic Bookcase’ for the National Library of Australia. His achievements were honoured in 2007 when he was made a member of the Order of Australia.