Robert Roger Ingpen AM,

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(born 13 October 1936) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

graphic designer, illustrator, and writer. For his "lasting contribution" as a children's illustrator he received the biennial, international

Hans Christian Andersen Medal The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 1986.

Early life

Ingpen was born in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, Victoria, and attended Geelong College to 1957. He graduated with a Diploma of Graphic Art from

RMIT The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

in 1958, where he studied with Harold Freedman.

Career

In 1958, Ingpen was appointed by the

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

(CSIRO) as an artist to interpret and communicate the results of scientific research. From 1968 Ingpen worked as a freelance designer, illustrator and author. He was also a member of a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

team in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

until 1975, where he designed pamphlets on fisheries and was involved in "a number of Australian conservation and environmental projects". He left the CSIRO to work full-time as a freelance writer in 1968. Ingpen's interest in conservation issues continued, and he was one of the founding members of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Work

Ingpen has written or illustrated more than 100 published books. These include children's picture books and fictional stories for all ages. His nonfiction books mostly relate to history, conservation, environment and health issues. His most frequent collaborator has been the author and editor Michael Page. Ingpen has designed many

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the ...

for Australia, as well as the flag and coat of arms for the Northern Territory. Ingpen has created a number of public murals in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

and the Gold Coast in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. He also has designed bronze statues, which include the Poppykettle Fountain in the

Steam Packet Gardens (currently dry due to drought restrictions) and the bronze doors to the

Melbourne Cricket Club The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia. The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Groun ...

. His most recent work is the design and working drawings for a tapestry, which was woven by The Victorian Tapestry Workshop, to celebrate the 150 years of the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

. In 1982 Ingpen designed the Dromkeen Medal for the Governors of the Courtney Oldmeadow Children's Literature Foundation. The Dromkeen is awarded annually to Australians in recognition of contributions to children's literature, and Ingpen received it himself in 1989 for his own work in the field. Ingpen was illustrator for the centenary editions of J.M. Barrie's '' Peter Pan and Wendy'' and

Kenneth Grahame Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer. He is best remembered for the classic of children's literature ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1908). Born in Scotland, he spent most of his childhood with his grandmother in ...

's ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

'' for which he bases characterisations on contemporary figures and personalities. In 2007 Ingpen illustrated a picture book by Liz Lofthouse called ''Ziba Came on a Boat'', which was nominated for many Australian awards including the Australian Children's Book Council Awards and the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards.

Exhibitions

In 1999 Ingpen had a major retrospective exhibition in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, which travelled to other regions of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

for a two-month period. Also in 1999 an exhibition of the original artworks and book launch for '' Around the World in 80 Days'' was held in London.Melaleuca Galleries - Robert Ingpen
/ref> In 2002 Ingpen had a solo exhibition in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Italy, and works from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

were exhibited in New York City. In 2002 Ingpen's work featured in the inaugural exhibition at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and he donated to the Museum the illustrations for Charise Neugebauer's ''Halloween Circus at the Graveyard Lawn'' (2003).

Awards

The biennial

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

conferred by the

International Board on Books for Young People International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. Ingpen won the illustration award in 1986. Patricia Wrightson won the writing award that year, and they remain the only Australians among more than 60 Andersen Medal recipients. Ingpen had illustrated Wrightson's most highly regarded work, '' The Nargun and the Stars'' (1973), a children's fantasy rooted in

Australian Aboriginal mythology Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology is the sacred spirituality represented in the stories performed by Aboriginal Australians within each of the language groups across Australia in their ceremonies. Aboriginal spirituality include ...

. He received the Australian Dromkeen Medal in 1989. In 2005 he was made honorary doctor of arts by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and in 2007 made a member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for "service to literature as an illustrator and author of children's books, to art design and education, and as a supporter of health care organisations." Awards for particular works: * Visual Arts Board award for children's book illustration for ''Storm Boy'' * 1980 ''River Murray Mary'' was commended in the Children's Book of the Year awards * 1980 Ditmar Australian Fiction Award for ''Australian Gnomes'' ( Poppykettle, book one)

Works

As illustrator only

* '' Storm Boy'' (1974) by Colin Thiele * ''The Runaway Punt'' (1976) by Michael F. Page * ''The Australian Countrywoman's Cookbook'' (1977) * ''Running the Brumbies: True Adventures of a Modern Bushman'' (1979) by Colin Stone * ''Lincoln's Place'' (1978) by Colin Thiele * ''Chadwick's Chimney'' (1979) by Colin Thiele * ''River Murray Mary'' (1979) by Colin Thiele * ''I Rhyme My Time: a Selection of Poems for Young People'' (1980) by David Martin * ''Turning Points in the Making of Australia'' (1980) by Michael Page * ''Night of the Muttonbirds'' (1981) by Mary Small * ''This Peculiar Colony'' (1981) by Ronald Rose * ''Clancy of the Overflow'' (1982) by

Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author, widely considered one of the greatest writers of Australia's colonial period. Born in rural New South Wales, Paterson worke ...

* ''Churchill Island'' (1982) text by Graham Pizzey * '' Click Go the Shears'' (1986) * '' The Stolen White Elephant'' (1987) by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

882* ''A Strange Expedition'' (1988) by Mark Twain * ''Child's Story'' (1988) by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

852 __NOTOC__ Year 852 (Roman numerals, DCCCLII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March 4 – Trpimir I of Croatia, Trpimir I, duke (''Knyaz, knez'') of Duchy of Croatia, Croatia, an ...

* ''A Christmas Tree'' (1988) by Charles Dickens

850 __NOTOC__ Year 850 ( DCCCL) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February 1 – King Ramiro I dies in his palace at Santa María del Naranco (near Oviedo), after an 8-year reign ...

* '' The Nargun and the Stars'' (1988) by Patricia Wrightson * ''Peacetimes'' (1989) by Katherine Scholes * ''The Great Deeds of Superheroes'' (1989) by Maurice Saxby * ''The Great Deeds of Heroic Women'' (1990) by Maurice Saxby * ''The Lands of the Bible'' (1992) by Philip Wilkinson and Jacqueline Dineen * ''The Magical East'' (1992) by Wilkinson and Michael Pollard * ''The Master Builders'' (1992) by Wilkinson and Pollard * '' The Mediterranean'' (1992) by Wilkinson and Dineen * ''Brahminy: the Story of a Boy and a Sea Eagle'' (c1995) by Colin Thiele * ''The Drover's Boy'' (1997) by Ted Egan * ''Jacob, the Boy from Nuremberg'' (1998) by Enjar Agertoft * '' The Poppykettle Papers'' (London: Pavilion, 1999) by Michael Lawrence – part of the Poppykettle series * ''Who is the World For?'' (2000) by Tom Pow * ''Shakespeare: His Work and His World'' (Walker, 2001) by Michael Rosen; * ''Halloween Circus'' (NY: North–South, 2002) by Charise Neugebauer – a Michael Neugebauer Book * ''The Tapestry Story: Celebrating 150 Years of the Melbourne Cricket Ground'' (2003) by Keith Dunstan * ''The Wizard's Book of Spells'' (2003) by Beatrice Phillpotts * ''The Magic Crystal'' (ca. 2003) by Brigitte Weninger * ''Dickens: His Work and His World'' (Walker, 2005) by Michael Rosen; * ''Mustara'' (2007) by Rosanne Hawke * ''Ziba Came on a Boat'' (2008) by Liz Lofthouse ;Children's Classics * ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (2000) by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

873 in Frenchref name=austlit/> * ''Peter Pan and Wendy'' ( 2004) by

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

911 911, 9/11 or Nine Eleven may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** The 2001 September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, commonly referred to as 9/11 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that ousted the ...

centenary edition * ''Treasure Island'' ( 2005) by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

883* ''The Ugly Duckling'' (Walker, 2005) by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

843 in Danishref name=austlit/> * ''The Jungle Book'' ( 2006) by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

894* ''The Wind in the Willows'' ( 2007?) by

908 centenary edition * ''A Christmas Carol and "A Christmas Tree"'' ( 2008) by

843 and 1850* ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' ( 2009) by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

865* ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' ( 2010) by

876– "for the centenary of Twain's death in April 1910" * ''The Night Before Christmas'' ( 2010) by Clement C. Moore A Visit from St. Nicholas", 1823">A_Visit_from_St._Nicholas.html" ;"title="A Visit from St. Nicholas">A Visit from St. Nicholas", 1823* ''The Secret Garden'' ( 2010) by Frances Hodgson Burnett [1911] – centenary edition * ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' ( 2011) by

873 in Frenchref name=palazzo/> * ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ( 2011) by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', part of a series. In addition to the 14 ''Oz'' books, Baum penned 41 other novels ...

900 __NOTOC__ Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate * Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are victorious at Balkh (Northern Afghan ...

* ''The Owl and the Pussycat and Other Nonsense'' ( 2012) by

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

(1812–1888) – Lear bicentenary edition * ''Just So Stories'' (2013) by

902 __NOTOC__ Year 902 (Roman numerals, CMII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Adalbert II, Margrave of Tuscany, Adalbert II, margrave of March of Tuscany, Tuscany, revol ...

ref name=walker/> * ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (2014) by

Carlo Collodi Carlo Lorenzini (; 24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi ( ; ), was an Italian author, humourist, and journalist, widely known for his fairy tale novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio''. Early lif ...

883 in Italianref name=walker/> 12 works named by Palazzo Editions in two pages on Ingpen. ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''The Owl and the Pussycat'' differ in format, larger and much shorter than the "Palazzo Children's Classics" series (192 to 240pp, 235 x 195mm).

Fiction writing

* Poppykettle series"The Poppykettle Series"
AUSTLIT (austlit.edu.au). Retrieved 18 July 2014. ** ''Australian Gnomes'' (Adelaide: Rigby Opal Books, 1979) ** '' The Voyage of the Poppykettle'' (Rigby, 1980) ** ''The Unchosen Land'' (1981) * ''Beginnings and Endings with Lifetimes in Between'' (1983) by Ingpen and Bryan Mellonie; North American title, evidently ''Lifetimes: a Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children'', * ''The Great Bullocky Race'' (1984) by Ingpen and Michael Fitzgerald Page * ''The Idle Bear'' (1986) * ''Out of This World: the Complete Book of Fantasy'' (1986) by Ingpen and Michael Fitzgerald Page * ''The Age of Acorns'' (1988) * ''The Dreamkeeper: a Letter from Robert Ingpen to His Granddaughter Alice Elizabeth'' (1995) * ''The Afternoon Treehouse'' (1996) * ''Folk Tales & Fables of Asia & Australia'' (1992) by Ingpen and Barbara Hayes * ''Once Upon a Place'' (1999) * ''A Bear Tale'' (2000) * ''The Rare Bear '' (2004)

Non-fiction writing

* ''In Pastures Green: the Story of the Presbyterian Church, Sale, Gippsland, Victoria'' (c1954) * ''Pioneers of Wool'' (1972) * ''Pioneer Settlement in Australia'' (1973) * ''Robe: a Portrait of the Past'' (1975) * ''Don Dunstan's Cookbook'' (1976) * ''Paradise and Beyond: Tasmania '' (1978) by Ingpen and N.C.K. Evers * ''Australian Gnomes'' (1979) * ''Marking Time: Australia's Abandoned Buildings'' (1979) * ''Australia's Heritage Watch: an Overview of Australian Conservation'' (1981) * ''Aussie Battlers'' (1982) by Ingpen and Michael Fitzgerald Page * ''Australian Inventions and Innovations'' (1982) by Ingpen, Sally Carruthers, and others * ''Colonial South Australia: Its People and Buildings'' (1985) by Michael Fitzgerald Page * ''Worldly Dogs'' (1986) by Ingpen and Michael Fitzgerald Page * ''The Making of Australians'' (1987) by Ingpen and Michael Fitzgerald Page * ''Conservation'' (1987) by Ingpen and Margaret Dunkle * '' Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were: Creatures, Places, and People'' (1987) by Ingpen and Michael Fitzgerald Page * ''A Celebration of Customs & Rituals of the World'' (1994) by Ingpen and Philip Wilkinson * ''Encyclopedia of Mysterious Places: the Life and Legends of Ancient Sites Around the World'' (1990) by Ingpen and Wilkinson * ''In the Wake of the Mary Celeste'' (c. 2004) by Ingpen and Gary Crew * ''Imprints of Generations'' (2006) * ''The Boy from Bowral: the Story of Sir Donald Bradman'' (2007) * ''Looking for Clancy'' (National Library of Australia, 2013), featuring " Clancy of the Overflow" by A.B. Paterson 889re
National Library of Australia - ''Looking for Clancy'' by Robert Ingpen
/ref>

References

External links

*
Robert Ingpen
at Libraries Australia Authorities *
Robert Ingpen
at Melaleuca Gallery * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingpen, Robert 1936 births Australian children's book illustrators Australian fantasy writers Australian contemporary painters Australian stamp designers Australian children's writers Members of the Order of Australia RMIT University alumni Australian non-fiction writers Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration winners People educated at Geelong College Living people Flag designers Australian male non-fiction writers Australian graphic designers 20th-century Australian artists Writers who illustrated their own writing Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts