Background:

Kate Greenaway is regarded as one of the foremost children's picture book artists in England in the late 1800s.  Her work depicts the essence of Victorian childhood through her illustrations of idealized children.  The prints shown on this page are from the Language of Flowers, regarded by many as her finest work.  Published in 1884, the engravings are by Edmund Evans who apprenticed with Greenaway's father, also an engraver.  The prints depict different flowers, and the emotions and attitudes they convey.