Posted on by Lynley

Depictions of Playfulness In Storytelling and Art

PLAYING ON SWINGS

  • From Rimskittle’s Book by Leroy F Jackson by Ruth Caroline Eger ca. 1900
  • Duane Bryers (1911 – 2012) hilda on tyre swing
  • Mabel Lucie Attwell
  • Woodcut illustration from Robert Frost ‘New Hampshire’ 1923
  • Playing in the Barn, Fanny Cory Cooney
  • Eric Drooker
  • Winslow Homer
  • Molly Brett (1902 – 1990)
  • Robert Walker MacBeth
  • William Stephen Coleman
  • Axel Hjalmar Ender (1853-1920)
  • 1903 Harrison Fisher
  • Sergey Vladimirovich ALIMOV (1938-2019)
  • Marion Wildman Vanity Fair 1927

PUTTING ON A SHOW

Czech illustrator Jiri Trnka (1912-1969) illustration for Andersen's Fairy Tales 1969
Czech illustrator Jiri Trnka (1912-1969) illustration for Andersen’s Fairy Tales 1969
Father Tuck's Puppet Show
Father Tuck’s Puppet Show
Charles Hunt - Children Acting the ‘Play Scene’ from “Hamlet,” Act II, Scene ii 1863
Charles Hunt – Children Acting the ‘Play Scene’ from “Hamlet,” Act II, Scene ii 1863
John Burr - Little Soldier
John Burr – Little Soldier

FLYING A KITE

  • Maginel Wright Enright Barney (American, 1881-1966) kite
    Maginel Wright Enright Barney (American, 1881-1966)
  • Woman’s World, March 1938. Art by Maginel Wright Barney
  • Arthur Rackham for Rip Van Winkle 1904
  • DIE WUNDERFAHRT (1929) Sándor Bortnyik
From Lucy and Tom From A to X K is for Kites by Shirley Hughes
From Lucy and Tom From A to X K is for Kites by Shirley Hughes
From Lucy and Tom From A to X K is for Kites by Shirley Hughes
From Lucy and Tom From A to X K is for Kites by Shirley Hughes
Kite flying by Shirley Hughes
Kite flying by Shirley Hughes

PARTY GAMES

William Heath Robinson (English,1872-1944) - The Egg and Spoon Race
William Heath Robinson (English,1872-1944) – The Egg and Spoon Race

PLAYING AT THE SEASIDE

Postcard by Muriel Dawson (1897-1974)
Postcard by Muriel Dawson (1897-1974)

PLAYING GROWN-UPS

  • From Rimskittle's Book by Leroy F Jackson by Ruth Caroline Eger ca. 1900
    From Rimskittle’s Book by Leroy F Jackson by Ruth Caroline Eger ca. 1900
  • Marie-Madeleine Dauphin (Franc-Brossier) 1878-1942
Eastman Johnson - The Old Stage Coach
Eastman Johnson – The Old Stage Coach
Frederick Brown - Candidates for Girton 1884 play
Frederick Brown – Candidates for Girton 1884
Harry Brooker - Children at Play
Harry Brooker – Children at Play

DANCING AND SINGING

  • Nikolaos Gyzis (Greek, 1842 - 1901)
    Nikolaos Gyzis (Greek, 1842 – 1901)
  • Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever London Bridge game 1970
  • Marie-Madeleine Dauphin (Franc-Brossier) 1878-1942

FUN AT THE FAIR

John L. Wimbush (1854 – 1914)
John L. Wimbush (1854 – 1914)

TABLETOP GAMES

New Yorker magazine cover July 1973 Gerhard Richter
New Yorker magazine cover July 1973 Gerhard Richter

SPORT

  • Winslow Homer
  • Johan Mengels Culverhouse
Croquet

  • Lady Cricketers – A Good Catch 1889
  • The English Lady Cricketers – Miss Stanley Batting
  • Marie-Madeleine Dauphin (Franc-Brossier) 1878-1942 badminton
    Marie-Madeleine Dauphin (Franc-Brossier) 1878-1942 badminton
  • The Tabby-Fur Family written by Tracey May, illustrated by Hilda Boswell, published by R. A. Publishing Company, London, 1948
DIE WUNDERFAHRT (1929) Sándor Bortnyik, honestly I’m not sure what’s going on here.
Harry Brooker - The Tug of War
Harry Brooker – The Tug of War
A Christmas Dance - The Lancers 1889
A Christmas Dance – The Lancers 1889
Members-of-a-Ladies-Hockey-Club-at-play
Members-of-a-Ladies-Hockey-Club-at-play

FOOD GAMES

Charles West Cope – Breakfast Time, Morning Games

HIDE AND SEEK

  • The Little People by Garth Williams (1912-1996) c1948 an unpublished illustration for Housekeeping Magazine
  • Edna Eicke (American, 1919-1979) 1948

CARDS

Frederick Goodall - Old Maid
Frederick Goodall – Old Maid
Harry Brooker - A Critical Moment
Harry Brooker – A Critical Moment

Header illustration: Sports Day Illustration Racey Helps (1913-1970)