Robert Ingpen facts for kids

Robert Roger Ingpen is a famous Australian graphic designer, illustrator, and writer. He was born on October 13, 1936. Robert Ingpen is best known for his amazing illustrations in children's books. In 1986, he won the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his "lasting contribution" as a children's illustrator. This award is one of the highest honors for people who create children's books.

Robert Ingpen's Early Life

Robert Ingpen was born in Geelong, a city in Victoria, Australia. He went to Geelong College until 1957. After that, he studied at RMIT and earned a diploma in Graphic Art in 1958.

Robert Ingpen's Career and Artworks

In 1958, Robert Ingpen started working for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). His job was to create art that helped explain scientific research. This meant he drew pictures to make science easier to understand.

From 1968, Robert Ingpen became a freelance artist. This means he worked for himself, taking on different projects. He also worked with the United Nations in Mexico and Peru. There, he designed booklets about fishing. He was also involved in many projects in Australia that focused on protecting nature and the environment. He even helped start the Australian Conservation Foundation, which works to protect Australia's natural places.

Books and Illustrations

The Flag of the Northern Territory, designed by Robert Ingpen.

Robert Ingpen has written or illustrated over 100 books! These include fun picture books for younger kids and exciting stories for all ages. His non-fiction books often teach about history, nature, and health. He has often worked with author and editor Michael Page.

Robert Ingpen has also designed many postage stamps for Australia. He even designed the flag and coat of arms for the Northern Territory! You can see his public murals (large paintings on walls) in cities like Geelong, Melbourne, and Canberra. He has also designed bronze statues, like the Poppykettle Fountain in Geelong. He even designed the bronze doors for the Melbourne Cricket Club. His most recent work was designing a tapestry (a woven picture) to celebrate 150 years of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

In 1982, Ingpen designed the Dromkeen Medal. This award is given every year to Australians who have made great contributions to children's literature. Robert Ingpen himself received this medal in 1989 for his own work.

He has illustrated special centenary (100-year anniversary) editions of famous books. These include Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. For these books, he often based his characters on real people he knew.

In 2007, Robert Ingpen illustrated a picture book called Ziba Came on a Boat by Liz Lofthouse. This book was nominated for many awards in Australia.

Exhibitions of Robert Ingpen's Work

In 1999, Robert Ingpen had a big art show called a "retrospective exhibition" in Taipei. This show then traveled to other parts of Taiwan for two months. Also in 1999, an exhibition of his original artworks for Around the World in 80 Days was held in London.

In 2002, he had a solo exhibition (a show just for his art) in Bologna, Italy. His artworks inspired by Shakespeare were also shown in New York City.

In the same year, Robert Ingpen's work was featured in the first exhibition at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Massachusetts. He even gave the museum his illustrations for Charise Neugebauer's book Halloween Circus at the Graveyard Lawn.

Awards and Recognition

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is a very important award for children's book creators. Robert Ingpen won the illustration award in 1986. He and Patricia Wrightson (who won for writing that year) are the only Australians to have received this medal. Ingpen had illustrated Wrightson's famous book, The Nargun and the Stars (1973), which is a fantasy story based on Australian Aboriginal mythology.

He also received the Australian Dromkeen Medal in 1989. In 2005, he was given an honorary doctor of arts degree by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. In 2007, he became a member of the Order of Australia. This honor was given to him for his great work as an illustrator and author of children's books, and for his contributions to art, design, education, and health care.

Here are some awards for his specific books:

• His illustrations for Storm Boy won an award from the Visual Arts Board.
• In 1980, River Murray Mary was highly praised in the Children's Book of the Year awards.
• In 1980, Australian Gnomes won the Ditmar Australian Fiction Award.

Robert Ingpen's Books

As an Illustrator

Robert Ingpen has brought many stories to life with his illustrations. Here are some of the books he has illustrated:

• Storm Boy (1974) by Colin Thiele
• The Runaway Punt (1976) by Michael F. Page
• Lincoln's Place (1978) by Colin Thiele
• River Murray Mary (1979) by Colin Thiele
• Night of the Muttonbirds (1981) by Mary Small
• Clancy of the Overflow (1982) by Banjo Paterson
• Click Go the Shears (1986)
• The Stolen White Elephant (1987) by Mark Twain
• The Nargun and the Stars (1988) by Patricia Wrightson
• Peacetimes (1989) by Katherine Scholes
• Brahminy: the Story of a Boy and a Sea Eagle (c1995) by Colin Thiele
• Jacob, the Boy from Nuremberg (1998) by Enjar Agertoft
• The Poppykettle Papers (1999) by Michael Lawrence
• Who is the World For? (2000) by Tom Pow
• Shakespeare: His Work and His World (2001) by Michael Rosen
• Halloween Circus (2002) by Charise Neugebauer
• 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
• Dickens: His Work and His World (2005) by Michael Rosen
• Mustara (2007) by Rosanne Hawke
• Ziba Came on a Boat (2008) by Liz Lofthouse

Children's Classics Illustrated by Ingpen

Robert Ingpen has illustrated many beloved classic children's books, giving them a fresh look:

• Around the World in Eighty Days (2000) by Jules Verne
• Peter Pan and Wendy (2004) by J. M. Barrie (centenary edition)
• Treasure Island (2005) by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Ugly Duckling (2005) by Hans Christian Andersen
• The Jungle Book (2006) by Rudyard Kipling
• The Wind in the Willows (2007) by Kenneth Grahame (centenary edition)
• A Christmas Carol and "A Christmas Tree" (2008) by Charles Dickens
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (2009) by Lewis Carroll
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (2010) by Mark Twain
• The Night Before Christmas (2010) by Clement C. Moore
• The Secret Garden (2010) by Frances Hodgson Burnett (centenary edition)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2011) by L. Frank Baum
• The Owl and the Pussycat and Other Nonsense (2012) by Edward Lear
• Just So Stories (2013) by Rudyard Kipling
• The Adventures of Pinocchio (2014) by Carlo Collodi

Fiction Books Written by Ingpen

Robert Ingpen has also written his own fictional stories:

• Poppykettle series:
  • Australian Gnomes (1979)
  • The Voyage of the Poppykettle (1980)
  • The Unchosen Land (1981)
• Beginnings and Endings with Lifetimes in Between (1983) by Ingpen and Bryan Mellonie (also known as 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 Books Written by Ingpen

Robert Ingpen has also written non-fiction books, often about Australian history and nature:

• Pioneers of Wool (1972)
• Pioneer Settlement in Australia (1973)
• Robe: a Portrait of the Past (1975)
• 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