20 Artists’ Visions of Alice in Wonderland From the Last 155 Years

It was 155 years ago today, on May 4th, 1865, when Alice tumbled down the rabbit hole. Carroll chose the day because it was Alice Liddell’s birthday (in 1865, she turned 13). Since then, Alice and her compatriots have been reimagined countless times, and inspired creative work of just about every genre. These days, it feels like we’re all down one rabbit hole or another, so it seemed just as good a time as any to revisit some of the best artistic treatments Alice and the gang have gotten over the years, from the classic Tenniel illustrations to moody drawings by Mervyn Peake (yes, that Mervyn Peake) to creations filtered by Yayoi Kusama’s bright, bubbly brain. Down you go.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, original illustrations, 1864:

Lewis Carroll

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Sir John Tenniel, illustrations for the first published edition of Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland, 1865:

Dodo presents Alice with a thimble (Sir John Tenniel)

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Blanche McManus, illustrations for the first American edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 1899:

Blanche McManus

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Peter Newell, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 1901:

The Caterpillar and Alice Looked at Each Other (Peter Newell)

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Arthur Rackham, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 1905:

At this, the whole pack of cards rose up into the air and came flying down upon her. (Arthur Rackham)

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Bessie Pease Gutmann, illustrations for Alice in Wonderland, 1907:

Bessie Pease Guttman

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Max Ernst, Alice in 1941, 1941:

[via MoMA]

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Mervyn Peake, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, 1946:

Mervyn Peake

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Leonard Weisgard, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, 1949:

Leonard Weisgard

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Tove Jansson, illustrations for Alice i Underlandet, 1966:

Tove Jansson

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Ralph Steadman, illustrations for Alice in Wonderland, 1967:

Courtroom Scene (Ralph Steadman)

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Salvador Dalí, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 1969:

The Queen’s Croquet Ground (Salvador Dali)

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Peter Blake, series of screenprints on paper, 1970:

But isn’t it old! Tweedledum cried. . . (Peter Blake)

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Kuniyoshi Kaneko, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Japanese edition), 1974, and other art:

Kuniyoshi Kaneko

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Barry Moser, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, 1982:

The Reverie of Alice’s Sister (Barry Moser)

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Nick Hewetson, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 1995:

Nick Hewetson

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Lisbeth Zwerger, illustrations for Alice in Wonderland, 1999:

Mad Hatter’s Table (Lisbeth Zwerger)

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John Vernon Lord, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Artists’ Choice Editions, 2009:

Alice recalls her adventures to the Mock Turtle (John Vernon Lord)

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Yayoi Kusama, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 2012:

Yayoi Kusama

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Anthony Browne, illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, 2015:

Anthony Browne

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