Raymond Briggs: A Retrospective
A new exhibition at Cambridge 探花直播 Library celebrates the life, work and legacy of the award-winning author and illustrator.
Rarely-seen original illustrations from Raymond Briggs go on display at Cambridge 探花直播 Library this weekend until August 26, 2023.
探花直播 showcases the beloved author-illustrator behind some of the UK’s most influential children’s books and graphic novels.
Touring from the , the retrospective highlights a selection of Briggs’ most significant works and reveal his expert draughtsmanship, captivating storytelling and the subversive humour throughout some of the most popular and influential children’s books and graphic novels of the 20th century.
Included in the exhibition are works from Briggs’ pioneering titles as well as drawings, hand-lettered typography and page designs from his earliest commissions to 探花直播Puddleman (2004).
探花直播Library is also programming a for our Friends as well as children and adults throughout the run of the exhibition.
"Below painting comes illustration… below that comes cartoons… then, below the gutter, are the sewers – strip cartoons! Comics! Ugh! 探花直播very cesspits of non-culture."
Raymond Briggs
A multi-award winning author and illustrator, Briggs, who passed away last year at the age of 88, is best known as the illustrator behind much-loved children’s classics including Fungus the Bogeyman (1977), Father Christmas (1973) and 探花直播Snowman (1978), as well as bestselling graphic novels for adults including Ethel & Ernest (1998), When the Wind Blows (1982) and 探花直播Tin Pot Foreign General and 探花直播Old Iron Woman (1984).
Rooftop page spread, Father Christmas © Raymond Briggs, 1973
Rooftop page spread, Father Christmas © Raymond Briggs, 1973
Born in London in 1934, he was inspired by illustrations in newspapers and Punch magazine and applied to art school at the age of 15. His interviewer was appalled by his desire to be a cartoonist, however Briggs' illustrated stories have become enduring works.
"Being able to share original artwork from the development of his well-loved books is an honour."
Ruth Law, Exhibition Coordinator
Though he never planned to write for children, his innate gift for storytelling and subversive humour have made many of his books generational favourites.
His best known work, 探花直播Snowman (1978), has sold more than 5.5 million copies in 21 countries and the animated film of the same name has been broadcast every Christmas Eve by Channel 4 since its first transmission in 1982.
Over a career which has spanned six decades, Briggs created illustrated books on a wide variety of different themes, from family relationships and grief to social mobility and political satire. His books have inspired, challenged and entertained readers around the world, and some have been the source of controversy.
Art School page spread, Ethel and Ernest © Raymond Briggs, 1998
Art School page spread, Ethel and Ernest © Raymond Briggs, 1998
探花直播Fairy Tale Treasury cover © Hamish Hamilton Children’s Books, illustrations Raymond Briggs, 1972
探花直播Fairy Tale Treasury cover © Hamish Hamilton Children’s Books, illustrations Raymond Briggs, 1972
探花直播Little Nut Tree, Fee Fi Fo Fum (c) Hamish Hamilton Children's Books, illustration Raymond Briggs 1964
探花直播Little Nut Tree, Fee Fi Fo Fum (c) Hamish Hamilton Children's Books, illustration Raymond Briggs 1964
探花直播Artist page spread, Gentleman Jim © Raymond Briggs, 1980, 2008
探花直播Artist page spread, Gentleman Jim © Raymond Briggs, 1980, 2008
Window page spread, 探花直播Bear © Raymond Briggs 1994
Window page spread, 探花直播Bear © Raymond Briggs 1994
VE Day, Ethel and Ernest © Raymond Briggs, 1998
VE Day, Ethel and Ernest © Raymond Briggs, 1998
探花直播Tin-Pot Foreign General, 探花直播Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman, text and illustrations © Raymond Briggs, 1984
探花直播Tin-Pot Foreign General, 探花直播Tin-Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman, text and illustrations © Raymond Briggs, 1984
Drawings on display include illustrations from Briggs’ nursey rhyme collections Fee Fi Fo Fum (1964) and the cover illustration for 探花直播Christmas Book (1968), which featured stories by authors Charles Dickens, Dylan Thomas and Kenneth Grahame.
探花直播late 1960s and 1970s was a richly creative time in Briggs’ career while tinged with grief following the deaths of both of his parents and his wife within the space of 24 months.
探花直播impact of these bereavements can be seen in his later books, including Fungus the Bogeyman (1977) and 探花直播Snowman (1978), which portray family relationships and loss with nuance and sensitivity.
Fungus the Bogeyman page spread © Raymond Briggs, 1977
Fungus the Bogeyman page spread © Raymond Briggs, 1977
Jim and the Beanstalk (1970) marked the first occasion that Briggs both author and illustrated a book. This was followed by Father Christmas (1973) in which Briggs started to use a comic strip format in his picture books.
Father Christmas (1973) was one of the first children’s books to use frame-by-frame storytelling in this way, as Briggs wanted to squeeze more story into the number of pages allowed.
Morning page spread, Father Christmas © Raymond Briggs, 1973
Morning page spread, Father Christmas © Raymond Briggs, 1973
Perhaps Briggs’ most famous and well-known work was published in the late 1970s. 探花直播Snowman (1978) is a word-less picture book which won multiple awards and was adapted into an animated film in 1982. Commenting on the end of the book, Briggs said: “ 探花直播Snowman has to melt because that’s what snowmen do."
Yet the careful construction of the story, showing the growing friendship between snowman and boy, makes its sudden end more resonant and moving than this pragmatic explanation allows.
Also on display will be drawings from 探花直播Bear (1994), layout sketches for Ethel and Ernest (1998) as well as illustrations from Briggs’ last picture book, 探花直播Puddleman (2004).
"I wanted to show the petty nastiness of life – slime and spit and dandruff, all this awful stuff which is slightly funny because it detracts from human dignity and our pretensions… everyone’s got that in their life. Everyone has to deal with disgusting things."
Raymond Briggs on Fungus the BogeyMan
Fungus the Bogeyman page layout with overlay © Raymond Briggs, 1977
Fungus the Bogeyman page layout with overlay © Raymond Briggs, 1977
" 探花直播essence [of being an illustrator] is to be a mini actor. If the figure is to crouch low in fear, you have to feel that from the inside... At the same time you have to be observing the figure from the outside. It’s an odd business really."
Raymond Briggs
When the Wind Blows page spread © Raymond Briggs, 1982
When the Wind Blows page spread © Raymond Briggs, 1982
"With a career spanning over 60 years Raymond Briggs' captivating illustrations and stories have touched countless people and will continue to do so for many years to come."
Ruth Law, Exhibition Coordinator
探花直播Elephant and the Bad Baby page spread © text Elfrida Vipont Foulds, illustrations Raymond Briggs, 1969
探花直播Elephant and the Bad Baby page spread © text Elfrida Vipont Foulds, illustrations Raymond Briggs, 1969
Raymond Briggs: A Retrospective opens on Saturday 29 April 2023 and will run until Saturday 26 August 2023. It is free and open to everyone.
Free tickets can be and anyone with a ticket is free to visit the 探花直播 Library Tea Room before or after the exhibition (or both).
Raymond Briggs: A Retrospective is a touring exhibition from the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration and features original illustrations courtesy of Raymond Briggs’ Archive and Penguin Random House.