Ernest H. Shepard

Ernest H. Shepard was born near London in 1879 and began studying at the Royal Academy School in 1897. He initially worked as a graphic artist and contributed drawings to the magazine Punch, where he met A. A. Milne. He became best known for illustrating Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books, beginning with the first volume in 1926. Shepard made numerous sketches of the Milne family’s estate and of Christopher Robin for the illustrations; Pooh was based on the Shepards’ old family teddy bear. In 1969, Shepard added color to the originally black-and-white Pooh illustrations. He died in 1976.