Edward Arthur Wilson
Scottish, 1886 - 1970
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Edward Arthur Wilson was a Scottish-born illustrator, lithographer, and painter.
He spent his early childhood in Rotterdam and Chicago. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, and then with Howard Pyle. He was established as an illustrator in New York City by 1921.
Wilson was fascinated by the sea from his early childhood years in Glasgow. His first full-length book project was a special 1924 edition of Iron Men and Wooden Ships, a collection of sailor shanties edited by Frank Shay.
He illustrated many classic and popular books over a 50-year career, including Robinson Crusoe (1930), The Man Without a Country (1936), Treasure Island (1941), and Jane Eyre (1944). Later in his career, he produced illustrations for magazines and a number of World War II propaganda posters, some of which are included in Thomas Craven's study The Book of Edward A. Wilson (New York: The Heritage Press, 1948).