The Art of Wendy Froud

The Art of Wendy Froud



Many of you are aware of my obsession with the Froud family and the absolute magic that they’ve created over the years. This is the family behind some of the most influential fantasy movies and artwork of the past couple of decades. Brian Froud worked at the side of Jim Henson to design creatures for movies such as Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, and he has sketched and painted some of the most extraordinary faerie scenes. Toby Froud started his magical career as an infant playing Toby in Labyrinth and has grown up to have a flourishing career in puppetry.

I’ve paid close attention to the works of these two members of the Froud family and felt it high time to take a closer look at Brian’s wife’s works.

Wendy Froud began working for Jim Henson around the same time that Brian did, although she had been building dolls and puppets since her early childhood. Wendy has been the creative force behind some of Henson’s most incredible puppets, including many of The Dark Crystal’s puppets and Star Wars’ Yoda.

This book is a gorgeous portfolio of her work. It includes portraits of her romantic, faerie, angelic, and gothic figures. The entire book is printed on thick glossy paper that best shows off these photographs and Wendy includes short blurbs and stories about the different aspects of her work within each section. Her work is truly stunning and mysterious, and this book is well worth a look through. I spent twice as long as I normally would on a book of this type simply staring at the dolls and trying to figure out how they were made. They really are extraordinary.

If you see this book, pick it up for a quick look through, especially if you are a fan of fantasy artwork. It’s absolutely gorgeous and showcases one of the most under appreciated art forms of the century.