Kay Nielsen – part 4

Kay Rasmus Nielsen (1886 – 1957) was a Danish illustrator who was popular in the early 20^th century, during the “golden age of illustration.” He joined the ranks of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac in enjoying the success of the Gift Books of the early 20^th century. Nielsen is also known for his collaborations with Disney for whom he contributed many sketches and illustrations.

See part 1 - Introduction for full biographical notes on Kay Nielsen. See parts 2 - 3 also for earlier works.

This is part 4 of a 6–part post on the works of Kay Nielsen:

1917 Arabian Nights:

Around and up to 1917  Kay Nielsen worked on an extensive suite of illustrations intended to accompany a translation of Scheherazade’s “Arabian Nights” that had been undertaken by the Arabic scholar, Professor Arthur Christensen. According to Nielsen’s own published comments, these illustrations were to be the basis of his return to book illustration following a hiatus during World War I, and the intention had been to publish the Danish version in parallel with versions for the English-speaking world and the French market. The project never came to fruition and Nielsen’s illustrations remained unknown until many years after his death.

1924 Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen:

Following his theatrical work in Copenhagen, Nielsen returned to contributing to illustrated books with the publication of “Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen” in 1924. This included 12 colour plates and more than 40 monotone illustrations. The colour images were prepared with integral formal and informal borders; the informal borders were produced in a mille-fleur style.