Rosa C. Petherick facts for kids

Illustration depicting three picnicking bears by Petherick

Rosa Clementina Petherick (born September 1871 – died December 20, 1931) was a talented British artist. She was best known for illustrating children's books. Her artwork often showed children playing with their toys.

Rosa's Early Life

Rosa Petherick was born in Addiscombe, a town near Croydon, England. She was the oldest of five daughters. Her father, Horace William Petherick, was also an artist. Her mother was Clementina Augusta Bewley Petherick.

Rosa had two older siblings, Horace Claude and Adeline Maude, but they sadly passed away when they were very young.

The Petherick family lived in Addiscombe. Rosa and her four younger sisters grew up there. Their names were:

• Rosa Clementina (1872-1931)
• Ada Flora (1874-1924)
• Leila Helena (1876-1951)
• Eveline May (1880-1936)
• Dora Valentine (1881-1946)

Only the youngest sister, Dora, ever got married. She married Albert H. Gilson, who repaired violins and cellos.

Rosa was a skilled artist from a young age. In 1892, when she was about 21, she painted a picture of her younger sister Dora. The painting showed Dora resting in a chair with a violin.

A Family of Musicians

The play hour by Rosa C. Petherick from First Steps. From the Osborne Collection. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library

Rosa's four sisters were very musical. They formed a group called the Petherick Quartet around 1905. They were mentioned several times in The Strad, a popular magazine about string instruments. They even performed at a concert in 1910.

Even though Rosa wasn't in the quartet, she was also a musician. She played in the Streatham Symphony Orchestra for a short time in 1920-1921.

Winning Art Competitions

Rosa Petherick entered art competitions held by The Studio magazine. She received special mentions for her designs:

• In June 1896, for designing a personal note-paper heading.
• In August 1896, for a black and white drawing called Summer.
• In November 1900, for an illustration for a children's story.

She also won special mentions in The International Studio in July 1897 for:

• A design for a Christmas Card title page.
• An illustration for The Canterbury Tales using pen and ink.
• A drawing of a female head.

Rosa's Artworks

Horace William Petherick drawn by Rosa in 1900

In 1900, Rosa drew a portrait of her father, Horace William Petherick. He used this drawing as the front page for his books about the famous violin maker Antonio Stradivari. He also used it for his book on repairing violins.

Rosa created illustrations for many children's story books, yearly collections, and magazines. She worked a lot with a company called Blackie and Son Limited. Her obituary in The Times newspaper mentioned that her etchings (a type of print) could be found in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Rosa was known for her paintings and drawings of children. She often showed kids playing together or with their toys. Most of her work was for very young children. However, she did illustrate a few books for older kids, mainly school stories.

The British Library has 55 of her works listed. The Museum of Croydon has 48 of her works in its art collection. These are likely only some of her many creations.

The Osborne and Lillian H. Smith Collections at the Toronto Public Library have 22 books illustrated by Rosa. Six of these books are available online for free.

Rosa Petherick passed away in Brighton on December 20, 1931.