Artist Statement

Sifting amongst children’s and illustrator’s art work of pre WW1 or WW2 has a very ‘tidy’, and ‘staged’
sense of childhood gives this series its title of ‘Frames of Reference’.

Most illustrations seem posed to look ‘sweetly’ perfect; to be an example, to constrain or to teach a
lesson. Children needed to ‘fit’ into a mould presented to them and acceptable to the world. Compliance and
obedience was paramount. Freedoms were shown in games with rules (eg ‘Ring a Ring of Rosies’)
and ‘free play’ was not a concept of this age.

This was the age of being useful, of child labor and for the poor there was very little or no
childhood…that right was not theirs.