Kay Nielsen (whose first name is pronounced "kigh"), (1886-1957) was a Danish illustrator who was popular in the early 20th century, the "Golden Age of Illustration" which lasted from when Daniel Vierge and other pioneers developed printing technology to the point where drawings and paintings could be reproduced with reasonable facility, He joined the ranks of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac in enjoying the success of the gift books of the early 20th century. This fad was able to last until roughly the end of World War II when economic changes made it more difficult to make a profit from elaborately illustrated books.

Nielsen was born in Copenhagen and studied in Paris. He began publishing in 1913 and in 1914 issued his classic book East of the Sun and West of the Moon. After World War I he became involved in theater design, and in the 1930s went to work for The Walt Disney Company, where his work was used in the "Ave Maria" and "Night on Bald Mountain" sequences of Fantasia. In 1940 he was laid off, and he eventually died in poverty in 1957.

External links and resources

• SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages: Fairy Tale Illustrations of Kay Nielsen
• Biography
• Children's Book Illustrators Gallery - Nielsen's First edition illustrations
• East of the Sun and West of the Moon Images

1886 births | 1957 deaths | Danish illustrators | Modern artists

Кай Нилсен | Kay Nielsen (illustrator)