Robert Littleford: Illustrator

Robert drew pictures illustrating Bruce Bromley’s bewitchingly beautiful The Life in the Sky Comes Down: Essays, Stories, Essay/Story. It’s a book that looks at teaching at New York University while the Twin Towers fell, at Lisa de Kooning riding a horse as the police followed closely behind her, at work in a theatre company directed by Edward Albee, and at love between men in a time when that love is charged with risk. Through essays, stories, and a hybrid of the two, The Life in the Sky Comes Down thinks about how essays and stories might speak to each other in an effort to expand what both can do. Robert’s sparse line drawings – vulnerable in their immediate simplicity yet determinedly forthright with their unflinching gaze – have made this book a uniquely beautiful and affecting volume.

About Robert Littleford

Robert studied at the Royal College of Art, London, earning an Illustration MA. His work has appeared in publishing, advertising and magazine spreads around the world. Clients include: The Wall Street Journal, Washington Sunday Times, The Body Shop, Ford Motors, Imagination, Vogue, Conde Nast Traveller, San Francisco Chronicle, Vancouver View, National Geographic, Picador, Quartet, and the Toronto Globe and Mail. Robert has created textiles and T-shirts for Christopher New, Neiman Marcus, Harrods, Jones, Jeff Banks and Paul Smith. Illustration and brand design for clients include Chez Gerard, Cranks and Pitcher and Piano, and the pop-up restaurant Pipsdish. He is the designer and illustrator of the ‘Adventure Walks Maps’, which include maps of London, Paris, Rome and New York with authors Becky Jones and Clare Lewis. Robert is currently illustrating the monthly ‘Insider Guide’ for Sunday Times Travel.

Robert’s website: Hand Drawn World