Michael Hague

(1948–), prolific American illustrator. After completing his degree at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, Hague began his career working for the greeting card companies Hallmark Cards and later Current, Inc. This commercial work held little appeal for him, and he quickly began circulating a portfolio of illustrations. Hague claims artistic influences that range from the comic strip tales of Prince Valiant to the animation of Walt Disney to Japanese printmakers, but his most overt influences are clearly artists of the late19thcentury, such as Arthur Rackham, N. C. Wyeth, and Howard Pyle.

Hague's illustrations are often noted for their old- fashioned, nostalgic qualities. Rich but muted colors, sumptuous textures, invitingly domesticated landscapes, and plushly comfortable interiors are all typical of his work. Given these tastes, it is not surprising that Hague has made a career of visually reinterpreting virtually every children's classic in the Anglo-American canon. His pictures ornament new editions of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows (1980), L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz (1982), C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1983), J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1984), Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1985), Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden (1987), J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan (1987), Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1993), and Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit (2001), among many others. Hague has also illustrated dozens of fairy tales, poems, nursery rhymes, and short stories. A number of his books are collaborative projects with his wife, Kathleen Hague, who is a children's author in addition to being an artist. Their titles include several concept books featuring teddy bears. Hague has collaborated with William J. Bennett on a series of volumes, including The Children's Book of Virtues (1995) and The Children's Book of Faith (2000), featuring traditional materials well suited to Hague's sentimental style of art.