My grandpa Erik, my dad's dad, the first & oldest & greatest of the Blegvad illustrators, died on Tuesday morning. He was 90 years old. I should be so lucky to ever do a drawing one half as nice as one of his, or to ever have a moustache so fine.
There's a lot of family legends & proud stories about him but my favourite is this: he was illustrating a crowded naval scene for a magazine, and he used his wise judgement and great wit to put a tiny boat in the distance with flags that spelled 'fuck it' in semaphore. Somebody wrote in to complain and he was fired. That's my kinda illustrator! Hats off to you, sir.
These are some photographs I took of his study, in lieu of more words because if there's one thing I ain't it's a eulogist. Just - bye Grandpa. Thank you for the good times.
What a killer stache! Love that hand-written sign. He seems like he was a stellar man!
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely post. I'm sorry for your loss, he sounds like a great man, and I love the story about the semaphore! The last photo is especially great.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear of your granddad's passing. He sounded like a great character and his moustache looked amazing. I adore his old work space and little notes.
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry for your loss. Your grandpa looks so lovely, and he was one of my favorite illustrators ever... his chapter book illustration were one of the things that led me to become an illustrator myself. Farewell, Mr. Blegvad!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, while my friends were in awe of movie actors, rock stars and sports celebrities, I was pouring over books and falling in love with the images writers created through words and the stories artists created through images. Erik Blegvad was one of the first illustrators whose style I could identify and whose name I knew. And of course, I always looked for the cat which appeared in most pictures - for a while I believed "Blegvad" must be the Danish word for "black cat"! Thank you for sharing the story about the flags and the message on that card is priceless - makes me wish I could draw or paint more than ever! My best wishes to you and your family - with such wonderful memories he will never be forgotten by you and through his delightful work he will never by forgotten by the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely to read your anecdote about the semaphore it made me laugh. The few times I visited Erik, he talked about you with great pride & showed me things you had done. I'm sad for your loss. A lovely grandfather.
ReplyDeleteMy condolences to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful eulogy — thank you so much for sharing your love for your grandfather and his impact on your own work. One of the very first books I ever received as a birthday present was his Eilsabeth the Bird watcher, still a treasured book. Thank you again.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to read of your grandfather's passing. He was one of my all time favorite illustrators. The way he saw with his pen -- remarkable. Thanks for posting the pictures of his studio. All good wishes.
ReplyDeleteYour gramps was the best. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times with Esme in London. He made really funny jokes about Antoni Gaudi being Gaudy and wondered if that's how he got his name. He even gave me one of the books he illustrated. I shed some serious tears when Esme told me he passed.
ReplyDelete- Martha