Brian Froud

2025-11-03T00:02:39Z

2601:153:882:30D0:B0D2:3ED7:4CB3:69AF: /* Illustration works */

{{Short description|English fantasy illustrator (born 1947)}}
{{for|the Canadian comedian|Brian Froud (actor)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox artist
| image = 10.14.12BrianFroudByLuigiNovi.jpg
| name = Brian Froud
| imagesize =
| caption = Froud at the 2012 [[New York Comic Con]]
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1947}}<ref name="Greenwood"/>
| birth_place = [[Winchester]], [[Hampshire]], England<ref name="GLCAEntry"/>
| death_date =
| death_place =
| field = [[Illustration]], [[painting]], and [[conceptual design]].
| training = [[Maidstone College of Art]]
| movement =
| works =
| patrons =
| awards = {{unbulleted list
|[[Hugo Award]] (1995)<ref name="Hugo95">{{cite web |url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1995-hugo-awards/ |title=1995 Hugo Awards |publisher=World Science Fiction Society |access-date=19 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507072945/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1995-hugo-awards/ |archive-date=7 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|[[Chesley Award]] (1995,<ref name="Chesley 1995">{{cite web|url=http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Chesley1995.html |title=1995 Chesley Awards |publisher=Locus Magazine|access-date=24 December 2019 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140406020547/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Chesley1995.html |archive-date=6 April 2014}}</ref> 1999<ref name="Chesley 1999">{{cite web|url=http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Chesley1999.html/|title=1999 Chesley Awards|publisher=Locus Magazine|access-date=14 March 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140406020825/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Chesley1999.html|archive-date=6 April 2014}}</ref>)
|[[Inkpot Award]] (2001)<ref name="Inkpot"/>
|Concept Art Award (2020)<ref name="Concept"/>}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Wendy Froud]]|1980}}
| children = [[Toby Froud]]
}}

'''Brian Froud''' (born 1947)<ref name="Greenwood"/> is an English [[Fantasy art|fantasy]] [[illustrator]] and [[conceptual design]]er. He is most widely known for his 1978 book ''[[Faeries (book)|Faeries]]'' with [[Alan Lee (illustrator)|Alan Lee]], and as the conceptual designer of the [[Jim Henson]] films ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'' (1982) and ''[[Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth]]'' (1986).<ref>{{cite news |last=Heffley |first=Lynne |date=22 October 1998 |title=A Very Full 'Hollow' |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-22-ca-34872-story.html |access-date=13 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313065005/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-22-ca-34872-story.html |archive-date=13 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Brian & Wendy Froud |date=29 September 2014 |website=Wall Street International |url=https://wsimag.com/art/11413-brian-and-wendy-froud |access-date=13 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313064243/https://wsimag.com/art/11413-brian-and-wendy-froud |archive-date=13 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'', Froud is "one of the most pre-emiminent visualizers of the world of [[faerie]] and folktale".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gilsdorf |first=Ethan |date=12 October 2012 |title=Fantasy Legends Brian and Wendy Froud at New York Comic Con This Weekend: The Q&A |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/10/brian-and-wendy-froud/ |access-date=13 March 2020}}</ref>

Most recently, Froud developed the 2019 [[streaming television]] series ''[[The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance]]''.

== Early life ==
Froud was born in [[Winchester]], England in 1947.<ref name="GLCAEntry">{{cite encyclopedia |date=22 September 2004 |title=Brian Froud |encyclopedia=Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]}} {{Gale|H1000154699}}</ref> An [[only child]], he grew up in rural [[Hampshire]]<ref name="Horrigan">{{cite news |first=Jeremiah |last=Horrigan |date=31 December 1982 |title=In Froud's world, mountains talk, rivers sing |newspaper=[[Poughkeepsie Journal]] |location=Poughkeepsie, New York |page=22 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57370468/in-frouds-world-mountains-talk/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=limited |access-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200815052654/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57370468/in-frouds-world-mountains-talk/ |archive-date=15 August 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> before moving to [[Kent]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Barder |first=Ollie |date=27 January 2019 |title='Brian Froud's World of Faerie' Book Review: A Wonderful Collection Of Fascinating Fantasy Art |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2019/01/27/brian-frouds-world-of-faerie-book-review-a-wonderful-collection-of-fascinating-fantasy-art/#42ccfda93bf9 |magazine=[[Forbes]] |access-date=23 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224203749/https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2019/01/27/brian-frouds-world-of-faerie-book-review-a-wonderful-collection-of-fascinating-fantasy-art/#42ccfda93bf9 |archive-date=24 December 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1967 he enrolled as a painter at [[Maidstone College of Art]], where he graduated with a first class honors diploma in [[Graphic Design]] in 1971.<ref name="Crystal">{{cite web |title= Brian Froud |url=http://www.darkcrystal.com/encyclopedia_froud.php |website=DarkCrystal.com |publisher=The Jim Henson Company |access-date= 9 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826033246/http://www.darkcrystal.com/encyclopedia_froud.php |archive-date=26 August 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career==
After graduating, Froud spent five years working as a [[commercial illustrator]] in [[Soho]], London before moving to [[Chagford]], Devon in 1975.<ref name="Crystal"/><ref name="People">{{cite magazine |first=Fred |last=Hauptfuhrer |date=19 March 1979 |title=For Artists Alan Lee & Brian Froud, Life Is a Faerie Tale Come True |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |volume=11 |issue=11 |url=https://people.com/archive/for-artists-alan-lee-brian-froud-life-is-a-faerie-tale-come-true-vol-11-no-11/ |access-date=23 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709001019/https://people.com/archive/for-artists-alan-lee-brian-froud-life-is-a-faerie-tale-come-true-vol-11-no-11/ |archive-date=9 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Between 1972 and 1976, he illustrated four books by children's author [[Margaret Mahy]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.storylines.org.nz/Profiles/Profiles+I-M/Margaret+Mahy.html |title=Margaret Mahy |date=n.d. |work=Storylines.org.nz |publisher=[[Storylines Childrens Literature Charitable Trust]] |location=Auckland, New Zealand |access-date=23 June 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528110216/http://www.storylines.org.nz/Profiles/Profiles+I-M/Margaret+Mahy.html |archive-date=28 May 2012 }}</ref> and ''Are All the Giants Dead?'' by [[Mary Norton (author)|Mary Norton]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Tohn |last=Leonard |date=16 November 1975 |title=Are All the Giants Dead? |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/16/archives/are-all-the-giants-dead-giants.html |access-date=23 June 2020 }}</ref> In 1976, Froud was featured in ''Once Upon a Time: Some Contemporary Illustrators of Fantasy'', a survey of modern British illustrators.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Douglas |last=Street |date=1979 |title=Review of ''Once Upon A Time: Some Contemporary Illustrators of Fantasy, and: Fantasy: The Golden Age of Fantastic Illustration'' |journal=[[Children's Literature Association Quarterly]] |volume=4 |issue=3 |page=17 |doi=10.1353/chq.0.1637 |s2cid=143538285 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/250086 |access-date=23 June 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1977, an anthology of his artwork, ''The Land of Froud'', was published.<ref>{{cite web |first=Doris, E. |last=Brown |date=20 November 1977 |title=Fantasy illustrator subject of art book |newspaper=[[The Central New Jersey Home News]] |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |page=C11 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57609818/fantasy-illustrator-subject-of-art-book/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=limited |access-date=18 August 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200818215712/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57609818/fantasy-illustrator-subject-of-art-book/ |archive-date=18 August 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In collaboration with his friend and fellow artist [[Alan Lee (illustrator)|Alan Lee]], Froud created the 1978 book ''[[Faeries (book)|Faeries]]'', an illustrated compendium of [[fairy|faerie]] folklore.<ref name="People"/> ''Faeries'' reached number four on the [[New York Times Best Sellers|''New York Times'' Best Sellers]] list,<ref>{{cite news |title=Best Sellers |date=19 November 1978 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/19/archives/best-sellers-fiction-nonfiction-footnotes.html |access-date=23 June 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Heritage Capital Corporation |date=2005 |title=Heritage Comics Auctions #815 Pini Collection Catalog |page=21 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nj02doLM968C&pg=PA21 |publisher=[[Ivy Press]] |isbn=978-1-932899-50-4 }}</ref> and by 2003 had sold over five million copies.<ref name="Kiefer">{{cite web |first=Michael |last=Kiefer |date=6 May 2003 |title=Magical tide washes Faeryland onto red rocks of Sedona |newspaper=[[Arizona Republic]] |location=Phoenix, Arizona |page=E2 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57740812/magical-tide-washes-faeryland-onto-red/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=limited |access-date=21 August 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200821011652/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57740812/magical-tide-washes-faeryland-onto-red/ |archive-date=21 August 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Froud's artwork in ''Once Upon a Time'' and ''The Land of Froud'' brought him to the attention of [[Jim Henson]], who sought out Froud to collaborate on his all-puppetry film ''[[The Dark Crystal]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Henson |first=Jim |title=1/16-24/1978 – 'Brian Froud comes to NY to live and work – have 1st series of meetings on Froud film.' |url=https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/01/116-241978/ |work=Jim Henson's Red Book |access-date=24 June 2020 |date=16–24 January 1978 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816072828/https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/01/116-241978/ |archive-date=16 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Karen |last=Falk |date=2012 |title=Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal |page=108 |publisher=[[Chronicle Books]] |isbn=978-1-4521-2462-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhRtcpdbqosC&pg=PA108 }}</ref> Froud served as the [[conceptual design]]er of ''The Dark Crystal'', released in 1982. The same year, his concept art for the film was published in the companion book ''[[The World of the Dark Crystal]]''.<ref name="Cine1983">{{cite magazine |last=Jones |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Jones (film critic) |date=April–May 1983 |title=The Dark Crystal |magazine=[[Cinefantastique]] |editor1-last=Clarke |editor1-first=Frederick S. |volume=13 |issue=4 |page=46 |url=https://archive.org/stream/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2013%20No%204%20%281982%29#page/n46/mode/2up}}</ref> Froud was also the conceptual designer for Henson's next feature film, ''[[Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth]]'', released in 1986,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Jones |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Jones (film critic) |date=July 1986 |title=Labyrinth |magazine=[[Cinefantastique]] |editor1-last=Clarke |editor1-first=Frederick S. |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=7, 57 |url=https://archive.org/stream/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2016%20No%203%20%28July%201986%29#page/n5/mode/2up}}</ref> as well as for the pilot episode of Henson's television series ''[[The Storyteller (TV series)|The Storyteller]]'', first aired in 1987.<ref name="Storyteller">{{cite magazine |last=Jones |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Jones (film critic) |date=December 1987 |title=The Storyteller |magazine=[[Cinefantastique]] |editor1-last=Clarke |editor1-first=Frederick S. |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=4–5 |url=https://archive.org/stream/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2018%20No%201%20%28Dec%201987%29#page/n3/mode/2up}}</ref> Following his collaborations with Henson, Froud's filmography continued; as a designer for the 1989 Japanese animated film ''[[Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland]]'';<ref>{{cite book |first1=Johnathan |last1=Clements |first2=Helen |last2=McCarthy |date=2015 |title=The Anime Encyclopedia, 3rd Revised Edition: A Century of Japanese Animation |publisher=[[Stone Bridge Press]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E03KBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT1790 |page=1790 |isbn=978-1-61172-909-2 }}</ref> as a visual consultant on the 2000 American animated film [[The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (2000 film)|''The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus'']]<ref name="Crystal"/> and [[P. J. Hogan]]’s 2003 live-action film [[Peter Pan (2003 film)|''Peter Pan'']];<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Peter Pan |date=March 2004 |magazine=[[Sight and Sound]] |volume=14 |issue=3 |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |pages=56–57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2tKGAAAAIAAJ }}</ref> and as a concept artist on the 2016 [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] film ''[[Pete's Dragon (2016 film)|Pete's Dragon]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pete's Dragon (2016) |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/579ddbe705d45 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114003237/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/579ddbe705d45 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 November 2017 |website=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=16 August 2020}}</ref> Froud returned to working with the [[Jim Henson Company]] as the primary conceptual designer of the 2019 [[Netflix]] series ''[[The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance]]'', a prequel to ''The Dark Crystal''.<ref name="Sounds">{{cite AV media |people=Paul Kobrak, Clem Hitchcock (Producers) |title=Creature and costume designers, The Frouds |date=13 August 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3csz1yv |series=In the Studio (Podcast series) |website=[[BBC Sounds]] |publisher=[[BBC World Service]] |access-date=23 June 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Abby |last=Robinson |date=8 August 2019 |title=Here's why Netflix's Dark Crystal was made into a prequel |website=[[Digital Spy]] |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a28866755/dark-crystal-netflix-prequel/ |access-date=24 June 2020 }}</ref>

In the late 1980s, Froud formed an artistic-literary partnership with [[Terry Jones]], who was a [[screenwriter]] on ''Labyrinth''. Together they produced ''The Goblins of Labyrinth'' (1986), a companion book containing Froud's concept art for the film,<ref>{{cite book |title=Library Media Connection: LMC., Volumes 4-6 |date=1986 |page=39 |publisher=Linworth Pub. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnIPAQAAMAAJ }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Douglas |last=McCall |date=2013 |title=Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969-2012 |page=115 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RS0FAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA115 |isbn=978-0-7864-7811-8 }}</ref> and subsequently a number of non-''Labyrinth''-related books about fairies and [[goblins]]. Their ''Lady Cottington'' series parodied the [[Cottingley Fairies]] phenomenon.<ref name="Greenwood">{{cite book |date=2008 |last=Alred |first=B. Grantham |chapter=Froud, Brian (1947-) |editor1-last=Haase |editor1-first=Donald |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales |volume=One: A-F |page=393 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jdx2fhPM1XIC&pg=PA393 |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |isbn=978-0-313-33442-9 |edition=Illustrated }}</ref> For his artwork in the first book of the series, ''Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book'' (1994), Froud won the [[Hugo Award for Best Original Artwork]]<ref name="Hugo95"/> and the [[Chesley Award]] for Best Interior Illustration.<ref name="Chesley 1995"/>

In 1991, Froud created over 50 paintings and drawings for his ''Faerielands'' series, a collaborative project in which he invited four fantasy authors — [[Charles de Lint]], [[Patricia A. McKillip]], [[Terri Windling]] and [[Midori Snyder]] — to choose their favourite of his pieces and write stories to go with them, based on the premise that "Faerie, inextricably bound as it is to nature and natural forces, is gravely threatened by the ecological crises that human beings have brought to our world”.<ref>{{cite book |title=Mythprint, Volumes 31-32 |publisher=[[Mythopoeic Society]] |year=1994 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=--4qAQAAIAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Diana Tixier |last=Herald |date=1999 |title=Fluent in Fantasy: A Guide to Reading Interests |publisher=[[Libraries Unlimited]] |page=147 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TW3gAAAAMAAJ |isbn=978-1-56308-655-7}}</ref> The resulting novels were to be published by [[Bantam Books]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Fantasy & Science Fiction, Volume 88, Issues 524-529 |date=1994 |publisher=[[Mercury Press]] |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-tLAAAAYAAJ }}</ref> However, only de Lint's ''The Wild Wood'' and McKillip's ''[[Something Rich and Strange (McKillip novel)|Something Rich and Strange]]'' were published in 1994 under the banner "Brian Froud's Faerielands" before the project was cancelled.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Volume 105 |date=2003 |pages=27–28 |publisher=Fantasy House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fDo6AQAAIAAJ }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Bleiber |date=2003 |title=Supernatural Fiction Writers: Peter Ackroyd to Graham Joyce |page=274 |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1RjuAAAAMAAJ |isbn=978-0-684-31251-4 }}</ref>

His artwork has been exhibited in the United Kingdom and the United States.<ref name="GLCAEntry"/> By 2003, Froud had sold over eight million large-format books of his paintings of fairies.<ref name="Kiefer"/>

== Personal life ==
Froud is married to [[Wendy Froud]] (''née'' Midener), a puppet-maker and sculptor whom he met at [[Jim Henson's Creature Shop|Jim Henson Studios]] in 1978 while working on ''The Dark Crystal''.<ref name="Crystal"/> The couple married on 31 May 1980, in [[Chagford]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Henson |first=Jim |date=31 May 1980 |title=5/31/1980 – 'Wendy marries Brian Froud in Chagford.'|url=https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/05/5311980/ |work=Jim Henson's Red Book |access-date=27 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422065310/http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/05/5311980/ |archive-date=22 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Dark Crystal - The Making Of... |url=http://www.darkcrystal.com/making-of.php |website=DarkCrystal.com |publisher=The Jim Henson Company |access-date=2019-12-27 |archive-date=2019-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904220309/http://www.darkcrystal.com/making-of.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> Their son [[Toby Froud|Toby]] (born 1984) portrayed the infant of the same name in ''Labyrinth'' at the age of one,<ref>{{cite news |date=5 December 1989 |title=Family displays art at McCune |newspaper=[[Petoskey News-Review]] |location=Petoskey, Michigan |page=6 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57311925/family-displays-art-at-mccune/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=limited |access-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200814095210/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57311925/family-displays-art-at-mccune/ |archive-date=14 August 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> and later became a puppeteer and creature fabricator,<ref>{{cite web |first=Tom |last=Eames |date=20 July 2020 |title=Where is Toby Froud aka the baby from Labyrinth now? |website=[[Smooth Radio (2014)|Smooth Radio]] |url=https://www.smoothradio.com/features/labyrinth-baby-now-toby-froud/ |access-date=10 October 2020 }}</ref> working alongside his parents on ''The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance'' as design supervisor.<ref>{{cite web |first=Garin |last=Pirnia |date=9 September 2019 |title=Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance's Design Supervisor Was Also the Baby in Labyrinth |website=[[Mental Floss]] |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/599603/toby-froud-labyrinth-baby-is-designing-dark-crystal-age-resistance |access-date=10 October 2020}}</ref> Through his son, Froud has one grandson.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.penzienfh.com/notices/Margaret-Midener|title=Obituary for Margaret Peggy Midener|website=Penzien Funeral Homes, Inc.|language=en|access-date=4 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604011725/https://www.penzienfh.com/notices/Margaret-Midener |archive-date=4 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Artistic style and influences==
Froud's artwork frequently draws upon [[fairy tales]] and [[European folklore]]. His paintings of fairies are known for recontexualising [[Victorian era|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian]]-era beliefs about fairies<ref name="Greenwood"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Ashwood |first=Brigid |date=10 April 2012 |title=Book Review: Trolls by Brian and Wendy Froud |website=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/10/trolls-by-brian-and-wendy-froud/ |access-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222150742/https://www.wired.com/2012/10/trolls-by-brian-and-wendy-froud/ |archive-date=22 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> and were part of a revival of [[fairy painting]] seen during the late 20th century.<ref>{{cite book |first=Beatrice |last=Phillpotts |date=1999 |title=The Faeryland Companion |publisher=[[Barnes & Noble Books]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7607-1890-2 |page=92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGgqGqBFYU4C }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Brian |last=Stableford |date=2009 |orig-date=First published 2005 |title=The A to Z of Fantasy Literature |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |location= |series=Historical Dictionaries |isbn=978-0-8108-6345-3 |page=213 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JKw5FYA4GgC&pg=PA213 }}</ref>

Among Froud's major influences are the 19th and early 20th-century illustrators [[Arthur Rackham]], [[Edmund Dulac]],<ref name="Horrigan"/><ref name="Cine1983"/> and [[Richard Dadd]].<ref name="Animazing">{{cite web |date=2011 |title=Bio of Brian, Wendy & Toby Froud |website=Animazing Gallery |location=[[SoHo, New York]] |url=http://www.animazing.com/gallery/pages/bio_frouds.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315000413/http://www.animazing.com/gallery/pages/bio_frouds.html |archive-date=15 March 2012 |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> Froud cites the early influence of Rackham, "in particular, [Rackham's] drawings of trees that had faces", as sparking his interest in illustrating fairy tales, and describes having had a love of nature from childhood that has informed his style.<ref name="Nature">{{cite magazine |last=Barder |first=Ollie |date=13 September 2019 |title=Brian Froud On 'The Dark Crystal', 'Labyrinth' And His Love Of Nature |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2019/09/13/brian-froud-on-the-dark-crystal-labyrinth-and-his-love-of-nature/ |magazine=[[Forbes]] |access-date=23 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625143825/https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2019/09/13/brian-froud-on-the-dark-crystal-labyrinth-and-his-love-of-nature/ |archive-date=25 June 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is frequently inspired by the landscape of [[Dartmoor]].<ref name="Sounds"/> Other influences Froud cites include the Robinson brothers ([[Thomas Heath Robinson|Thomas]], [[Charles Robinson (illustrator)|Charles]] and [[W. Heath Robinson|William]]),<ref name="Animazing"/> the [[Pre-Raphaelites]], [[William Morris]] and Northern European art from the 1500s and 1600s.<ref name="Nature"/> He has stated that he was fascinated by [[Greek mythology|Greek]], [[Druid]], [[Celtic mythology|Celtic]] and German 15th-century history and mythology.<ref name="Animazing"/> Froud's work has also been influenced by [[Arthurian legend]], "com[ing] from [[Glastonbury]] as a sacred centre".<ref>{{cite web |first=Gem |last=Wheeler |date=28 August 2019 |title=The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance's designer on 'a purer form of puppetry' |website=[[Den of Geek]] |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-dark-crystal-age-of-resistances-designer-on-a-purer-form-of-puppetry/ |access-date=25 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816215517/https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-dark-crystal-age-of-resistances-designer-on-a-purer-form-of-puppetry/ |archive-date=16 August 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Jeremiah Horrigan of the ''[[Poughkeepsie Journal]]'' wrote that Froud's style "echoes not only the great 19th century illustrators he reveres, but also harbors a wealth of elements ranging from [[Medieval art|Medieval]] to ancient [[Celtic art|Celtic]] and [[Scandinavian folklore|Nordic folk]] art."<ref name="Horrigan"/>

==Works==

===Illustration works===
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1971)
* ''The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate'' (1972)
* ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (1972)
* ''Day of the Minotaur'' (1975) — Front cover
* ''Ultra-violet catastrophe!'', or ''The unexpected walk with Great-Uncle Magnus Pringle'' (1975)
* ''Are All the Giants Dead?'' (1975)
* ''The Wind Between the Stars'' (1976)
* ''The Land of Froud'' (1977)
* ''Master Snickup's Cloak'' (1978)
* ''[[Faeries (book)|Faeries]]'' (1978) — With [[Alan Lee (illustrator)|Alan Lee]]
* ''[[The World of the Dark Crystal]]'' (1982)
* ''Goblins: Pop-up Book'' (1983)
* ''The Goblins of Labyrinth'' (1986) (reissued in abridged form as ''The Goblin Companion: A Field Guide to Goblins'' (1986)
* ''The Dreaming Place'' (1990)
* ''Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book'' (1994)
* ''Quentin Cottington's Journal of Faery Research: Strange Stains and Mysterious Smells'' (1996)
* ''Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Journal'' (1998)
* ''Good Faeries/Bad Faeries'' (1998)
* ''The Faeries' Oracle'' (2000)
* ''Lady Cottington’s Fairy Album'' (2002)
* ''The Runes of Elfland'' (2003)
* ''Goblins!'' (2004)
* ''The Secret Sketchbooks of Brian Froud'' (2005)
* ''Chelsea Morning'' (2005) - Based on the [[Chelsea Morning|song]] by [[Joni Mitchell]]
* ''Brian Froud's World of Faerie'' (2007)
* ''Heart of Faerie Oracle'' (2010)
* ''How to See Faeries'' (2011) — With [[John and Caitlin Matthews|John Matthews]]
* ''Trolls'' (2012) — With [[Wendy Froud]]
* ''Faeries' Tales'' (2014)
}}

===''Brian Froud's Faerielands'' series===
* ''[[Something Rich and Strange (McKillip novel)|Something Rich and Strange]]'' (1994) by [[Patricia A. McKillip]]
* ''The Wild Wood'' (1994) by [[Charles de Lint]]
* ''[[The Wood Wife]]'' (1996) by [[Terri Windling]]
* ''Hannah's Garden'' (2002) by [[Midori Snyder]]

===Conceptual works===
* ''[[Faeries (1981 film)|Faeries]]'' (1981)
* ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth]]'' (1986)
* ''[[The Storyteller (TV series)|The Storyteller]]'' (1987) — pilot episode "[[The Storyteller (TV series)#Hans My Hedgehog|Hans My Hedgehog]]"<ref name="Storyteller"/>
* ''[[Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland]]'' (1989)
* ''[[The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (2000 film)|The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Peter Pan (2003 film)|Peter Pan]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Mythic Journeys]]'' (2009)
* ''[[Pete's Dragon (2016 film)|Pete's Dragon]]'' (2016)
* ''[[The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance]]'' (2019)

== Awards and nominations ==
===Illustration===

In 1979, Froud was nominated for the [[British Fantasy Award]] for Best Artwork for Plate 12 of his 1977 book, ''The Land of Froud''.<ref>{{cite web |title=British Fantasy Awards 1979 |website=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=[[Locus Science Fiction Foundation]] |url=http://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_1979 |access-date=24 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027014426/http://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_1979 |archive-date=27 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> For his 1978 book with Alan Lee, ''Faeries'', Froud won second place in the 1979 [[Locus Award]] for Best Art Book<ref>{{cite web |title= Locus Awards 1979 |website=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_1979 |access-date=10 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820085035/http://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_1979 |archive-date=20 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> (Froud has been a runner up four times through to 2015).<ref name="Froud sfadb">{{cite web |title= Brian Froud |website=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Brian_Froud |access-date=10 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803183858/http://www.sfadb.com/Brian_Froud |archive-date=3 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Faeries'' was also nominated for the 1979 [[Balrog Award]] for Best Professional Publication.<ref>{{cite web |title= Balrog Awards 1979 |website=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Balrog_Awards_1979 |access-date=12 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804044811/http://www.sfadb.com/Balrog_Awards_1979 |archive-date=4 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, Froud was also runner up for the Locus Award for Best Artist (he has been a runner up four times through to 1999).<ref name="Froud sfadb"/>

Four years later, Froud was a nominee at the 1983 [[Hugo Awards]] in the category of [[Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book|Best Non-Fiction Book]] for ''[[The World of the Dark Crystal]]'', for which Froud was the illustrator in a partnership with writer J. J. Llewellyn.<ref name="Hugo83">{{cite web |url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1983-hugo-awards/ |title=1983 Hugo Awards |date=26 July 2007 |publisher=World Science Fiction Society |access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref> ''The World of the Dark Crystal'' won fifth place in the 1983 Locus Award for Best Nonfiction/Reference Book.<ref>{{cite web |title= Locus Awards 1983 |website=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_1983 |access-date=12 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820084835/http://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_1983 |archive-date=20 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, Froud was also nominated for the Balrog Award for Best Artist.<ref>{{cite web |title= Balrog Awards 1983 |website=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Balrog_Awards_1983 |access-date=12 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804043157/http://www.sfadb.com/Balrog_Awards_1983 |archive-date=4 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Froud was honoured by the [[World Fantasy Convention]] with a nomination for the [[World Fantasy Award—Artist|World Fantasy Award for Best Artist]] in 1991, and again four years later.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nominees |website=worldfantasy.org |publisher=[[World Fantasy Convention]] |url=http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/nominees/ |access-date=24 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208045253/http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/nominees/ |archive-date=8 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1995, Froud won the [[Hugo Award for Best Original Artwork]] for his illustrations in ''Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book'', a collaboration with writer [[Terry Jones]].<ref name="Hugo95"/> The book also won the [[Chesley Award]] for Best Interior Illustration, and Froud was also nominated that year for the Chesley Award for Artistic Achievement.<ref name="Chesley 1995"/> For ''The Wise Woman'', Froud won a certificate in the 1995 [[Spectrum Award]] for Best Book.<ref>{{cite web |title=Spectrum Awards 1995 |website=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Spectrum_Awards_1995 |access-date=25 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044558/http://www.sfadb.com/Spectrum_Awards_1995 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

For his illustrations in [[Terry Windling]]'s novel, ''[[The Wood Wife]]'', Froud was nominated for the [[BSFA Award]] for [[BSFA Award for Best Artwork|Best Artwork]] in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |title=British SF Association Awards 1998 |website=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |url=http://www.sfadb.com/British_SF_Association_Awards_1998 |access-date=24 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428131706/http://www.sfadb.com/British_SF_Association_Awards_1998 |archive-date=28 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, for his artwork in ''Good Faeries/Bad Faeries'', another collaboration with Windling, Froud won his second Chesley Award for Best Interior Illustration<ref name="Chesley 1999"/> (he has been a finalist six times through to 2008).<ref name="Froud sfadb"/>

In 2001, Froud, along with his wife, was awarded the [[Inkpot Award]].<ref name="Inkpot">[https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot Inkpot Award]</ref> Froud received a lifetime achievement award from the New York [[Society of Illustrators]] Museum in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |first=Gabrielle |last=Sierra |date=27 September 2011 |title=Animazing Gallery of SoHo To Exhibit THE FROUDS: VISIONS FOR FILM & FAERIE |website=[[Broadway World]] |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Animazing-Gallery-of-SoHo-To-Exhibit-THE-FROUDS-VISIONS-FOR-FILM-FAERIE-20110927 |access-date=20 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104054039/https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Animazing-Gallery-of-SoHo-To-Exhibit-THE-FROUDS-VISIONS-FOR-FILM-FAERIE-20110927 |archive-date=4 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Film===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Work(s)
! Result
|-
| [[40th British Academy Film Awards|1987]]
| [[BAFTA Film Award]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects|Best Special Visual Effects]]
| ''[[Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth]]'' – with Roy Field, [[George Gibbs (special effects artist)|George Gibbs]] and Tony Dunsterville
| {{Nominated}}<ref>{{cite web |title= Film in 1987 |website=British Academy of Film and Television Arts |url= http://awards.bafta.org/award/1987/film |access-date=3 December 2019}}</ref>
|-
| [[14th Saturn Awards|1987]]
| [[Saturn Award]]
| [[Saturn Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]]
| ''Labyrinth'' – with Ellis Flyte
| {{Nominated}}<ref>{{cite web |title=1987 Saturn Awards |url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000004/1987 |website=[[Internet Movie Database]]. |access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref>
|-
|2020
|Concept Art Award
|Lifetime Achievement
|''[[The Dark Crystal]]'', ''Labyrinth''
|{{Won}}<ref name="Concept">{{cite web |title=2020 Concept Art Awards Presented by Lightbox Expo |website=Concept Art Association |url=https://www.conceptartassociation.com/2020-awards |access-date=2 November 2020}}
*{{cite web |first=Mercedes |last=Milligan |date=31 August 2020 |title=2020 Concept Art Awards Finalists; Miyazaki, Froud Named Lifetime Achievement Recipients |website=[[Animation Magazine]] |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/events/2020-concept-art-awards-finalists-miyazaki-froud-named-lifetime-achievement-recipients/ |access-date=2 November 2020}}</ref>
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Brian Froud}}
*{{official website|https://worldoffroud.com/ }}
*{{IMDb name|id=0296612|name=Brian Froud}}
*{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20050404080432/http://www.endicott-studio.com/bios/biofroud.html Short biographies of Brian & Wendy Froud]}}
*{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20061111095701/http://www.endicott-studio.com/gal/galBrianFroud/BFroud.html "Portrait Painter to the Fairies", Brian Froud]}}, [[Endicott Studio]]
* {{URL|http://www.reviewgraveyard.com/00_interviews/2018/18-03-01_brian-froud.html|Brian Froud Interview}} at Reviewgraveyard.com
*[https://archive.today/20121206005238/http://community.livejournal.com/froud_books/profile The Froud Collectors Group on LiveJournal]

{{Inkpot Award 2000s}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|England|Visual arts}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Froud, Brian}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century English painters]]
[[Category:English male painters]]
[[Category:21st-century English painters]]
[[Category:21st-century English male artists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University for the Creative Arts]]
[[Category:Artists from Hampshire]]
[[Category:British fantasy artists]]
[[Category:English speculative fiction artists]]
[[Category:English illustrators]]
[[Category:Artists from Winchester]]
[[Category:Hugo Award–winning artists]]
[[Category:Inkpot Award winners]]
[[Category:People from Winchester]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Brian Froud