H. Chr.Andersen: Fairy Tales illustrated by Maxwell Armfield

Maxwell Armfield (1881-1972) was born at Ringwood of Quaker parents, his father being a milling engineer. Armfield entered the Birmingham School of Art in 1899. There he came under the influence of Henry Payne, Gaskin and Southall, who taught him the tempera technique he was to practice for the rest of his life. It is obvious that Armfield was impressed by the Pre-Raphaelite paintings in the Art Gallary.
Armfield was not only a painter but a prolific illustrator and versatile decorative artist, while being deeply involved in theatre, music, teaching and journalism and writing some twenty books, including poetry, accounts of foreign travel, and such textbooks as the much-acclaimed Manual of Tempera Painting (dedicated to Southall, 1930).