Eileen Soper

Children freeing a caged bird

1925

Eileen Soper, born in 1905 was the second daughter of an accomplished artist, George Soper, who was an engraver, etcher and illustrator. Taught by her father, George Soper, she showed early promise as an artist. Two of her etchings were exhibited at the Royal Academy in London when she was 15. She showed three prints at an exhibition organized by the International Society of Printmakers in California. Soper continued to produce around 180 etchings mostly of children at play into the early 1930s. Her work was popular and well-received and shown in the UK and the USA. Today, Soper is best known for her collaboration with Enid Blyton, most notably all of the Famous Five books. She produced a series of etchings mainly of children playing and illustrated books for other writers, notably for Enid Blyton and Elizabeth Gould, and wrote and illustrated her own children's book. Some of her illustrations of children and animals were used in a china series for children by Paragon China in the 1930s. Later in life, she concentrated on writing and illustrating wildlife books. Soper was a founder member of the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) and was elected a member of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers (RMS) in 1972.