The illustrator Gerald Rose, who has died aged 87, was the youngest winner of the Kate Greenaway medal for children’s book illustration, in 1960. Then still in his mid-20s and barely out of art school, he would go on, often in partnership with his wife, Elizabeth, a writer, to become an influential artist in the field of children’s picture books. His painterly, playful and gently anarchic artwork continues to be enjoyed around the world.
The Greenaway medal (now renamed the Carnegie medal) was awarded for Rose’s illustrations to Old Winkle and the Seagulls. Written by Elizabeth and published by Faber, the book exemplifies Rose’s graphic ebullience and flair. It also embodies one of his recurrent themes and motifs, the coastal town (in this case Lowestoft, Suffolk), reflecting his lifelong association with the sea.
