Adam Hargreaves
Adam Hargreaves (born 1964 in Surrey) is an English author and illustrator living in East Sussex. The son of Roger Hargreaves, he continues his father's popular Mr. Men series of children's books.[1] Hargreaves also served as inspiration for the series. When at the age of six he asked his father "What does a tickle look like?",[2] Roger used that question to create the first book, Mr. Tickle, which was published in 1971.
Biography
Hargreaves took over the Mr. Men and Little Miss cartoon empire after his father's death in 1988, despite initially thinking the series "embarrassing" and "a bit clichéd" and contemplating a life as a farmer.[3] At the time he had worked on a beef and arable farm in Sussex and, after taking a course at Plumpton Agricultural College in 1984, as a dairyman. He then traveled to Australia for four months, where he met the woman he would marry in 1987. When his father died following a series of strokes in 1988, Hargreaves took up the self-run business as his brother Giles pursued a career in advertising and his twin sisters Sophie and Amelia were yet too young. Attempting to assume his father's art style took "years of trial and error," even having completed a foundation course at Brighton Art College.[4] He said that as he taught himself to draw like his father he started to have a real respect for what he had done. He understood his father's sense of humour and that what made the books and the characters so successful is that they are about universal human emotions and the books have a strong sense of morality.[3]
In 2004 the family sold the rights to the Mr. Men to entertainment group Chorion for £28 million, although Hargreaves remains the public face of the franchise and continues to invent new characters. Stella McCartney commissioned him to create Little Miss Stella for the invitations to her 2006 fashion show. For the series' 40-year anniversary in 2011 he released Little Miss Princess just in time for the royal wedding.
Although best known for continuing the Mr. Men series, Hargreaves has a lifelong passion in painting.[5] His works can be found in several art galleries.
References
- ^ BBC News:Oakes, K. Happy Birthday to the Mr Men, 4 April 2006
- ^ "Roger Hargreaves". Amazon. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
- ^ a b Cavendish, Lucy (6 August 2011). "Adam Hargreaves: 'The Mr Men will always be part of me'". The Telegraph.
- ^ Wintle, Angela. "Interview with Adam Hargreaves - Mr Men Illustrator and Writer." Sussex Life.
- ^ "Adam Hargreaves". Hill & Hill Gallery. Retrieved 14 March 2012.