Lisbeth Zwerger

Lisbeth Zwerger (born 26 May 1954) is an Austrian illustrator of children's books. For her "lasting contribution to children's literature" she received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1990.

Zwerger was born in Vienna in 1954. She studied 1971 to 1974 at the Applied Arts Academy of Vienna, but left before completing the course of studies. She married English artist John Rowe. Since the publication of her first illustrated book in 1977 she has worked as a freelance picture book illustrator in Vienna, specializing in fairy tales.

Michael Neugebauer Verlag published Zwerger's first book, Das Fremde Kind in 1977. Zwerger continued to work with Neugebauer, who also occasionally contributed to the lettering and book design.

Her style is similar to that of English illustrators of the 19th century and she acknowledges being influenced by the work of Arthur Rackham. Provided by Wikipedia