GREAT ARTISTS, COMPOSERS AND MUSIC
Among Martin Aitchison’s most accomplished and striking Ladybird illustrations
are his pictures for the ‘Great Artists’ and ‘Lives of the Great Composers’ series. It is clear from
these pictures that he has put ‘heart and soul’ into them!
Despite his severe deafness, Martin has always appreciated music and was a competent pianist as a
young man. His preference was (and remains) classical music, although he also enjoyed early jazz
and blues music before the War. Of the classical giants, Martin particularly admires Beethoven,
whose own deafness and ability to overcome disability have undoubtedly been an inspiration to him.
Illustrating the ‘Lives of the Great Composers’ series, written by Ian Woodward, was thus a highly
enjoyable project, requiring much initial research.
The ‘Great Artists’ series was written by Martin’s wife Dorothy Aitchison, who herself
had gone on to teach drawing at Kingston School of Art. Martin and Dorothy had travelled widely
together over the years to visit major European Art galleries and to tour centres such as Florence
and Venice and their collaboration on this subject was both happy and successful.
Now view the Great Composers and Artists pictures for sale
Or read the next page: Well-Loved Tales (series 606d)
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