Kay Nielsen

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Kay Nielsen (whose first name is pronounced "kigh"), (1886-1957) was a Danish illustrator who was popular in the early 20th century, the "Golden Age of Illustration" which lasted from when Daniel Vierge and other pioneers developed printing technology to the point where drawings and paintings could be reproduced with reasonable facility, He joined the ranks of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac in enjoying the success of the gift books of the early 20th century. This fad was able to last until roughly the end of World War II when economic changes made it more difficult to make a profit from elaborately illustrated books.

Nielsen was born in Copenhagen and studied in Paris from 1904 to 1911. He then lived in England from about 1911 to 1916. He painted (in tempera) landscapes in the Dover area. Nielsen came into contact with the Tempera Society where he learned new skills, and was able to reduce the time involved in the process. In 1917 he left for New York where there was an exhibition of his work. Together with a collaborator Johannes Poulsen he painted stage scenery for the Theatre Royal in Copenhagen. In 1939 he left for California and worked for Hollywood companies. His art has a very hard edge, which makes them suitable for coversion into cinema cartoon form. In the 1930s went to work for The Walt Disney Company, where his work was used in the "Ave Maria" and "Night on Bald Mountain" sequences of Fantasia. In 1940 he was laid off. He did some work on "The Little Mermaid" story, but it was almost 50 years before this reached the cinema. His final years were spent in poverty. His last works were for local schools and churches. His reputation has grown steadily since then.

[edit] Notable works

"In Powder and Crinoline: Old Fair Tales" (1913) by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
"East of the Sun and West of the Moon" (1914) by Peter Christen and Moe Asbjornsen
"Hansel and Gretel and Other Stories by the Brothers Grimm" (1925) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
"Red Magic: A Collection of the World's Best Fairy Tales from All Countries" (1930) by Romer Wilson (ed)