E.H. Shepard was a British artist and a celebrated veteran of the First World War, who was born in 1879. He became a household name as the illustrator of A.A. Milne’s stories of Winnie-the-Pooh. The illustrator worked as a political cartoonist for Punch magazine for more than 30 years. When Milne saw his cartoon work, the pair formed a partnership that gave the world one of the most well-known and popular creations in children’s narrative – Winnie-the-Pooh. Ernest Shepard’s illustrative work was commissioned by numerous notable authors of that era. Winnie-the-Pooh, also known as Pooh Bear, is a fictional teddy bear brought to life by Milne and Shepard. When We Were Young was a book published in 1924, which featured a poem about the bear. Shepard was a large contributor to the book When We Were Young’s success and having realised this, Milne arranged for him to receive a share in his royalties. The first collection …show more content…
Shepard as he is A.A. Milne’s. The iconic yellow bear in the red shirt is the first thing most people think of when they hear the name of the fictional bear. Looking at the creatures that Pooh was based upon, Christopher Robin Milne’s own ‘Pooh’ and ‘Growler’, who belonged to Shepard’s son, it is clear that Shepard didn’t draw what he saw. The real teddy bears had ordinary toy bear noses, while Shepard gave Pooh his distinctive upward curve to his snout. He also gave the fictional bear’s body those curves that are not dissimilar to that of the chubby tummy of a child. Shepard had originally drawn Pooh with a shirt as early as the very first Winnie-The-Pooh book, however it wasn’t coloured red until later editions. The first drawings of Kanga and Roo look like toys; they even have seams. However, once they enter the world of Christopher Robin they come to life. As his preliminary sketches progressed into the drawings for the Winnie-the-Pooh books, Shepard’s drawings come to life, creating something