V&A Illustration Awards
The V&A Illustration Awards is a free, biennial competition celebrating excellence in illustration and contemporary practice.
Find out more
Illustration
From printed books to botanical art, the V&A collection includes a wide variety of illustration from the fifteenth century to the present day. Original artworks showcase the design process and include sketchbooks, drawings, manuscripts, proofs and printing blocks, and a growing collection of digital art.
The collection is rich in European botanical illustration, British book illustration, and printed fashion plates. Highlights include work by Aubrey Beardsley, Beatrix Potter, Arthur Rackham, Quentin Blake, Posy Simmonds and Kara Walker, and illustrations of beloved children’s books including Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Grimm’s fairy tales.
Features
-
Illustrating Wonderland with Kristjana S Williams
Watch how artist Kristjana S. Williams creates her own unique Wonderland for the V&A
-
Aubrey Beardsley – decadence & desire
"I have one aim – the grotesque. If I am not grotesque, I am nothing"
-
Alice: through the pages
Discover beautifully illustrated editions of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' in our collection
-
Turning the pages of an illuminated manuscript
Watch as we open up a medieval choirbook
-
Barbara Nessim: an artful life
Meet American artist, fashion designer and computer art pioneer, Barbara Nessim
-
Reading feminist magazines: ASMR
Listen in as we turn the pages of iconic feminist magazines
-
Chris Riddell: Drawing 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'
How to draw Alice, The White Rabbit, The Queen of Hearts and a unique, androgynous Mad Hatter
-
John Tenniel – an introduction
Creator of the iconic 'Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland' illustrations, John Tenniel's career was fascinatingly varied
-
Opera engravings, caricatures, and prints
Engravings, caricatures and prints in our collections document the dramatic 400 year history of opera
-
Private Eye: illustrative journalism
Meet cartoonist Ken Pyne and see how an edition of the satirical magazine is produced
-
Gerald Scarfe: drawing inspiration
Join the cartoonist Gerald Scarfe as he discusses his varied work and career
-
William Morris: literature and book design
William Morris was an accomplished writer as well as a designer, combining his love of words with design in calligraphy and page decoration.
-
Handling and care of precious books: ASMR
Experience the National Art Library – a calm and tranquil yet deeply sensory space
-
Fallen Fruit at the V&A
How Californian artists Fallen Fruit created a unique 'fruity' portrait of the V&A
-
Design and make a surreal critter
Create your own surreal critter with these drawing challenges
-
Charles Dickens
The V&A has in its collections books, manuscripts, prints, paintings and other objects relating to Dickens
Collection highlights
-
Illustration for 'The Butterfly Collector', by Fulvio Testa, 1978, BritainV&A South Kensington -
Over de voortteeling en wonderbaerlyke veranderingen der Surinaamsche insecten, by Maria Sybilla Merian, 1730, Amsterdam, NetherlandsV&A South Kensington -
The Lady of Shalott, illustration by William Holman Hunt for Poems of Alfred Tennyson, 1857, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
Alice in the train, illustration for 'Through the Looking-Glass, and what Alice found there' by Lewis Carroll, illustration by John Tenniel, engraved and printed by Dalziel Brothers, 1872, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
The Black Cape, plate VI from 'A Portfolio of Aubrey Beardsley's drawings illustrating “Salome” by Oscar Wilde', illustration by Aubrey Beardsley, published by John Lane, 1894, LondonV&A South Kensington -
The Prince leading the lady to the tomb, book illustration, Edmund Dulac, 1914, BritainV&A South Kensington -
'L'Air', fashion plate for Falbalas et Fanfreluches. Almanach des modes..., by George Barbier, 1925, Paris, FranceV&A South Kensington -
Holding on to each other, illustration by E.H. Shepard for ‘The House at Pooh Corner’ by A.A. Milne, 1928V&A South Kensington -
La Boutique Fantasque, silhouette of Ivan Tsarevitch in Mikhail Fokine's ballet ‘The Firebird’, papercut, by Lotte Reiniger, 1930s, London, EnglandV&A East Storehouse -
And this is Rachel - our head girl, illustration for 'Lilliput' and later 'Back to the Slaughterhouse', by Ronald Searle, 1951, BritainV&A South Kensington -
Old Rinkrank threatens the Princess, from the portfolio of 'Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm', etching and aquatint, by David Hockney, 1970, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
Illustration for Punch magazine, pen and ink, by Quentin Blake, 1970V&A South Kensington -
The Raid, illustration for Siegfried Sassoon's 'Memoirs of an Infantry Officer', by Paul Hogarth, 1981, BritainV&A South Kensington -
Great Logs Coming Down a Mountain River, illustration by Rolf Brandt for the Children's story 'The Story of A Tree' by Stephen McFarlane, about 1945, London, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
Illustration by Clare Leighton for 'The Return of the Native' by Thomas Hardy, proof wood-engraving, 1929, BritainV&A South Kensington
Join a V&A Academy experience
Explore our curated range of expert-led courses, workshops, and talks, all with the V&A collections at their core.
- Expert led courses
- Practical workshops
- Lectures & talks
- Professional development
Header image:
Great Logs Coming Down a Mountain River, illustration by Rolf Brandt for the Children's story 'The Story of A Tree' by Stephen McFarlane, gouache, about 1945, Museum no. E.546:2-2005. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London