At that moment she was changed by magic to a wonderful little fairy 1907

John Bauer conjured this scene, probably sometime in the early 1900s, with delicate lines and watery washes. I can imagine him hunched over a table, carefully plotting out this encounter. There’s a quietness to this picture, isn’t there? A boy in clogs meets a fairy princess in a mossy forest clearing. Those dabs of grey and brown create a very particular mood. It’s like a moment of hushed anticipation. The fairy's hair, drawn with such detail, feels almost like a curtain, separating the human world from the magical. The artist, a storyteller. The boy, a blank slate, the fairy, an invitation to imagine new possibilities. I can’t help but think of other illustrators who built imaginary worlds like Arthur Rackham and Kay Nielsen. Artists are always referencing, remixing, and responding to one another, across time and space. We are all in conversation through the making of art. It’s never really about answers, just more ways of looking.