HITTY by Rachel Field 10 1929

Dorothy Lathrop made this illustration for 'Hitty' using watercolour and ink. It’s a process of building up delicate washes, allowing the paper to breathe, and it feels so light and open, like a sketchbook page where accidents are embraced. I love how Lathrop balances detail with these simple, almost naive shapes. Look at the doll’s eyes, the minimal expression, and compare it to the texture of the leaves, the shading around the gorilla. These areas of detail are offset against broader, flatter shapes, pushing and pulling us between the surface and the illusion of depth. The muted colours, and the way the paint is thinly applied, create a subtle, dreamy atmosphere. You could say this has something in common with Arthur Rackham’s illustrations, that slightly eerie and uncanny take on children’s book illustration. But Lathrop has something of her own. It's like she's inviting us to invent our own narrative.