Biographical Note
Pauline Baynes was born on September 9, 1922 in Brighton, Sussex,
England, and died August 1, 2008. She was the daughter of Frederick William
Wilberforce Baynes, a commissioner in the Indian Civil Service, and Jessie
Harriet Maude (Cunningham) Baynes. Her first few years were spent in India, due
to her father's position, but when her mother became ill, she returned to
England with her mother and sisters. She was educated in several convent
schools, which she found harsh and restrictive, until in 1937, at the age of
fifteen, she began studies at the Farnham School of Art. From 1939-1940, she
attended the Slade School of Art, until in 1940 World War II interrupted her
education and she went to work for the British Army's Camouflage Development
and Training Centre, where she made demonstration models for instruction
courses. In 1942 she joined the Hydrographic Department of British Admiralty,
where she drew naval charts until the end of the war in 1945. Baynes' work
during the war allowed her to meet many established, professional illustrators
who inspired and encouraged her in her budding career.
Baynes is perhaps best known for her illustrations of the works of
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, although these were done during the beginning of
her career.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
(1950) was voted the Children's Book of the Millennium by the British Library
Association, and along with
The Magician's Nephew was named a Notable
Book by the American Library Association.
Baynes wrote and illustrated three books,
Victoria and the Golden Bird (1947),
How Dog Began (1987), and
Good King Wenceslas (1987). She also
served as the editor of one book,
Thanks Be to God: Prayers from Around the
World. (1990). She illustrated over ninety books for authors such as
Victoria Stevenson, Emmeline Garnett, Grant Uden, Constance Hieatt, Helen
Piers, Anna Sewell, and Beatrix Potter.
The Puffin Book of Nursery Rhymes, by
Peter and Iona Opie, won the Carole Prize in 1964. Grant Uden's
Dictionary of Chivalry won both the Kate
Greenaway Medal from the British Library Association and the
Book World Spring Book Festival Award in
1968.
The Joy of the Court, by Constance Hieatt,
was selected as one of the Children's Books of the Year in 1971 by the Child
Study Association of America. In 1972 Baynes received a Kate Greenaway Medal
commendation for
Snail and Caterpillar, by Helen Piers, and
in 1984
The Iron Lion by Peter Dickinson was named
one of
The New York Times' Notable Books.
Baynes once commented, "My only ambition as a schoolgirl was to
illustrate books, and my only ambition now is to try to illustrate better."
Source: Gale Literary Databases. "Pauline (Diana) Bates." Contemporary
Authors. 24 September, 2002. 29 June 2005.
Content Description
The Pauline Baynes Papers consist of sketches and drawings from six of
her illustrated works, three of which were award-winning:
All Along, Down Along, by Leonard Clark;
The Last Battle and
The Magician's Nephew, by C.S. Lewis;
The Most Wonderful Animals that Never
Were, by Joseph Wood Krutch;
St. George and the Dragon, by Sandol
Stoddard Warbug; and
Snail and Caterpillar, by Helen Piers.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access Collection is open to the public.
Collection must be used in Special Collections & University
Archives Reading Room.
Restrictions on Use Property rights reside with Special Collections & University
Archives. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be
submitted to the Manuscripts Librarian of the Division of Special Collections
& University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the
copyright holder.
Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Pauline Baynes Papers, A 308, Special
Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene,
Oregon.