Althea Willoughby

Althea Willoughby (1904–1982^[1]) was a British artist. She worked as a book and magazine illustrator, painted decorative tiles and made wood engravings.^[1]

Willoughby was born in London.^[2] Her mother, Vera Willoughby was also a professional illustrator^[1] and her father was the actor Lewis Willoughby.^[2]

Willoughby was educated at the Royal College of Art during the 1920s.^[2] Her work was exhibited at the Redfern Gallery in 1930 and at The British Art in India exhibition of 1935.^[1]

Willoughby designed the woodcut frontispiece for Alexander Somerton's The Glades of Glenbella (1929)^[3] and illustrated three volumes of Faber and Faber's Ariel Poems: James Stephens' The Outcast (1929), D. H. Lawrence's The Triumph of the Machine (1930), and Henry Newbolt's A Child is Born (1931) She designed posters for London Transport,^[1] including Chrysanthemums in London's Parks (1933),^[4][5] and for the Southern Railway.^[6] She also designed patterned papers for the Curwen Press.^[7][8]

After marriage, Willoughby was known as Althea Wolton.^[9]

Her work is in collections including the Olga Hirsch Collection of Decorated Papers at the British Library,^[10] and that of the Victoria and Albert Museum.^[8]

• Cover of the 1936 Christmas edition of the Radio Times, by Willoughby