EDWARD JEFFREY IRVING ARDIZZONE 

C.B.E., R.A., R.D.I., F.S.I.A., Hon A.R.C.A.

1900

October 16, born in Haiphong, Province of Tonkin, Cochine-Française (French Indo-China). His father, though of Italian parentage, was born in Algeria and therefore a French national.

1905

Arrives in England with his two sisters Elizabeth (Betty) and Lauretta (Tetta).

1905-13

The three elder children brought up largely by their maternal grandmother in Suffolk whilst their parents were on foreign service.

1913-18

Attends Clayesmore School.

Childhood drawing of a schoolmaster

1919-1926

Works as a clerk, where he 'doodled a lot on his blotter'.

Attends evening classes at the Westminster School of Art under Walter Bayes and Bernard Meninsky. This was his only formal training as an artist.

1920

Family house established at 130 Elgin Avenue, Maida Vale, London W9.

Our house in the snow - Christmas card c.1955

1927

To the horror of his father gives up work at the office to become a full time artist. Visits Austria and Italy with sister Betty.

1928

Meets Catherine Anderson, whom he marries early in 1929.

Self-Portrait 1929

1929

Publication of In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu, the artist's first illustrated book.

November 18: birth of first child, Christianna - who was to persuade him to write Lucy Brown for her.

1930

First one-man exhibition at the Bloomsbury Gallery. A meeting with his childhood friend Maurice Gorham results in Edward Ardizzone's first drawing for Radio Times. Around this time his brother David rents a house at Kingsdown, near Deal, later to be the home of Tim's parents in the Little Tim books.

1931

Exhibition of oil paintings and watercolours at the Leger Gallery,

December 1: birth of second child, Philip, upon whose insistence Little Tim was to be drawn.

1932

Exhibition of oil paintings and watercolours at the Leger Gallery.

1934

Exhibition of watercolours and drawings at the Leger Gallery.

1936

Publication of Little Tim and The Brave Sea Captain, the first of the'Tim' books.

Exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Leger Gallery.

1937

Publication of Lucy Brown and Mr. Grimes.

1938

Publication of Tim and Lucy Go to Sea.

Tim and Lucy go to sea

1939

Exhibition of watercolours and drawings at The Nicholson Gallery.

September 1: called up to 54th AA Regt (TA), Royal Artillery.

September 8: birth of second son, Nicholas.

December 23: commissioned 2nd Lieutenant.

1940

February: appointed Official War Artist and at the end of March embarks for France to work with the British Expeditionary Force.

With the 300th on the Move 1940

1940-42

Remains working mostly in London in the blitz – arrested (by the Home Guard) as a spy for sketching in the East End of London. Publication of Baggage to The Enemy – E.A’s war experiences with the British Expeditionary Force in France, 1940.

Home Guard 1940

1942-43

North Africa

Letter from Egypt, 1943

1943-45

Sicily and Italy, also Normandy landings and later, Germany

1945

1 September: Relinquished commission, discharged from the Army.

1948

Publication of Nicholas and the Fast Moving Diesel:

Publication of Paul the Hero of the Fire:

Exhibition of recent watercolours at the Leicester Galleries:

Joins teaching staff of the Camberwell School of Art and Crafts:

Elected Fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists.

1949

Publication of Tim to the Rescue

1951

Publication of Tim and Charlotte

Visits Dieppe with his brother David and Barnett Freedman.

Exhibition of recent watercolours, Leicester Galleries

1952

Publication of The Blackbird in the Lilac, first book in collaboration with James Reeves

Paints large altarpiece for the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Faversham.

Commissioned by UNESCO to attend seminar for production of audio-visual aids in India and to train students in the art of silk screen printing and other stencil processes

1953

Returns to London to carry out commissioned watercolour of the Queen's Coronation

Appointed tutor in etching at the Royal College of Art:

Publication of Tim in Danger.

1954

On recommendation of Sir John Rothenstein, commissioned by the Press Gallery to execute a portrait of Sir Winston Churchill for presentation to him on his retirement.

1955

Exhibition of recent watercolours and drawings, Leicester Galleries

Publication of The Little Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon illustrated by EA, which was awarded the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association and the Hans Christian Andersen medal of the International Board on Books for Young People. It was the start of a long and fruitful collaboration between the author and her illustrator.

Tim All Alone - title page

1956

Publication of Tim All Alone, the first book to win the Kate Greenaway Award for the year's most distinguished work in book illustration.

1957

Publication of his article, 'On the Illustrating of Books', Private Libraries Association, Vol.1 No.3, July 1957.

1958

Exhibition of recent watercolours and drawings, at the Leicester Galleries. Publication of his article, 'The Born Illustrator' in Motif No 1, November 1958.

1959

Sir Colin Anderson commissions murals in first class children's nursery on the ocean liner P&O Canberra.

Tim all Alone

1960

Publication of Johnny The Clockmaker.

1962

Exhibition of recent watercolours and drawings at the Mayor Gallery.

Publication of Tim’s Friend Towser.

Peter the Wanderer

1963

Publication of Peter the Wanderer.

1964

Publication of Diana and Her Rhinoceros.

1965

Exhibition of recent watercolours and drawings, the Mayor Gallery

Publication of Sarah and Simon and No Red Paint

Publication of Tim and Ginger

1966

Buys cottage in Kent, at Rodmersham Green, the village where his parents had lived and his elder son, Philip, and his family were now settled. With Aingelda Ardizzone, his daughter-in-law, publication of The Little Girl and the Tiny Doll.

Rodmersham: My Garden in Spring

1967

Designs Birthday Greetings Telegram for Post Office

1968

Publication of Tim to the Lighthouse:

Visits Australia, exhibition at the MacQuarrie Galleries, Sydney.

1969

Publication of Johnny’s Bad Day.

1970

Elected to the Royal Academy of Arts:

Exhibition of recent watercolours and drawings at the Mayor Gallery to coincide with the publication of The Young Ardizzone - an Autobiographical Fragment:

Publication of The Wrong Side of the Bed:

Publication of Brian Alderson's Edward Ardizzone, A Preliminary Hand List of his Illustrated Books 1929-70.

1971

Awarded the CBE

1972

Publication of Tim's Last Voyage, which, surprisingly, was not quite the final 'Tim' book:

Leaves 130 Elgin Avenue for good.

The Night Ride

 1973

Publication, with Aingelda Ardizzone, of The Night Ride.

Visits Australia to attend art seminar at University of New South Wales, Sydney.

1974

Publication of Diary of a War Artist. Elected a Royal Designer in Industry.

1975

Exhibition of drawings and doodles, New Grafton Gallery

1977

Publication of Ship's Cook Ginger.

A Child's Christmas in Wales

1979

Publication of Edward Ardizzone by Gabriel White

Last major work, the illustration of

A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas

Last illustrated book Ardizzone’s English Fairy Tales

Thursday 8 November: Edward Ardizzone dies of a heart attack at his home in Rodmersham Green