Sheilah Beckett
Born: 1913 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Died: November 17, 2013
Sheliah only illustrated a couple of Little Golden Books, The Twelve Dancing Princesses in 1954 and The Twelve Days of Christmas almost
50 years later in 1992. I would place, The Twelve Dancing Princesses in the top five most sought after out of print Little Golden Books.
At 100 years young she has just finished the new cover for the first reprint of, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, since 1954. The book is due out on January 7, 2014.
Her first break came at the end of the 1930's when she was given the job of illustrating a series of books released in 1940 on the plays of Gilbert and Sullivan.
In the 50's besides illustrating books and magazine stories, her art can be seen in advertisments for Whitman's Chocolates, Necco Wafer candy to name a couple.
Sheilah's characters and style of painting are easily recognized and she has done this without an art lesson.
Sheilah, I can't wait to see what paintings you share with us all in the years to come. Congratulations on becoming a centenarian.