The Return of Margaret Erath

Way back when I started this blog I did a week on illustrated album covers. One of the albums I presented, a really delightful children's record called "All About the Seasons" was signed "M. Erath" - a name I had never heard before.

After some detective work on the Internet I discovered and actually made contact with the artist, Margaret Erath - but I never imagined I'd find another example of her illustration work. That made the discovery of this second album cover by Erath so exciting.


You see Margaret Erath never really work as a professional illustrator. She was a textile designer at the Gloria Bucé Studio in New York City. For 32 years she designing patterns for fabrics and took on a tiny number of illustration assignments, including a series of record jackets for Wide World Children's Records. This recent find must be one of those jackets.


I find Erath's artwork to be extremely charming. In it, I see shades of Maurice Sendak and Mary Blair, as well as a hint of Jan Balet...


... but beyond any similarity to the work of other artists, Erath's style is distinctly personal and honest and lovely. I wish there was more of it - but I also feel fortunate to have found these rare examples.

Margaret Erath retired to Arizona and at the time when I last heard from her, was painting for local gallery shows.

My Margaret Erath Flickr set.