Monday, April 24, 2006
The portrait at the left is of Nellie Littlehale Umbstaetter Murphy. Much of her biography is yet to be obtained. Details are sketchy, but she was one of my favorite artists of the early 20th century. Her fantasy and children's illustration was so much fun and so memorable. Her work appeared in the Wonder World series of books, a large eleven volume set of books for children on all subjects. Her work really produced awe in those of us who were fortunate enough to own a set of those books.
The video was put together mainly from illustrations from the Wonder World books. Prokoviev's "Gavotte" from the "Classical Symphony" completes the music track and at the end of the video, you will see a picture of the maestro as a child at the keyboard. His "l'enfant terrible" days still a few years off.
