Raymond Briggs’ family paid tribute today to an author and illustrator “loved by millions” after the creator of the popular children’s classic The Snowman died at the age of 88.
Briggs has a long and prosperous career and is best known as the creator of the 1978 classic animated film.
Since then, more than 5.5 million copies of the wordless picture book have been sold worldwide, and it is aired every Christmas.
Over the last fifty years, the best-selling novelist has sold millions of copies of works such as When the Wind Blows, Fungus the Bogeyman, Father Christmas, and Ethel & Ernest.
A statement from his family released today said: ‘We know that Raymond’s books were loved by and touched millions of people around the world, who will be sad to hear this news. Drawings from fans – especially children’s drawings – inspired by his books were treasured by Raymond and pinned up on the wall of his studio.
‘He lived a rich and full life, and said he felt lucky to have had both his wife Jean, and his partner of over 40 years Liz in his life.
‘He shared his love of nature with Liz on South Downs walks and on family holidays to Scotland and Wales. He also shared his sense of fun and craziness with his family, and with his family of artist friends – at get-togethers, fancy dress parties and summer picnics in the garden.
‘He played practical jokes and enjoyed them being played on him. All of us close to him knew his irreverent humour – this could be biting in his work when it came to those in power. He liked the Guardian editorial describing himself as an ‘iconoclastic national treasure’.’
In Wimbledon, England, in 1934, Briggs was born to a milkman father named Ernest and a housewife named Ethel.
During WWII, he was evacuated to Dorset, where his parents saw him on a regular basis, before returning to south west London and enrolling at Rutlish School, where he continued cartooning over his father’s objections.
Briggs studied painting at Wimbledon School of Art from 1949 to 1953, ignoring Ernest’s suggestion that it would be a waste of time. He also studied typography at Central School of Art.
Between 1953 to 1955, he was a National Service conscript in the Royal Corps of Signals in Catterick, where he was a draughtsman. He returned to the Slade School of Fine Art at UCL, where he graduated in 1957.
Despite his love of creating and painting great children’s books, the author endured a number of catastrophes during his life.
Mr Briggs’ mother died of leukaemia in 1971, and his father, a milkman, died of stomach cancer nine months later.
Then, on Christmas Eve 1972, his loving wife, painter Jean Taprell Clark, who had schizophrenia, was diagnosed with leukaemia. She died many months later.
Briggs took a cool approach to Christmas, much like the barren wintry landscapes that sprinkle his bestselling novel The Snowman.
In fact, Briggs, whose touching story is a staple of the holiday season for numerous families, said he disliked the festivities.
‘I’m not a fan of Christmas, although I support the principle of a day of feasting and presents,’ he once said.
‘But the anxiety starts in October: how many are coming? Are they bringing grandchildren? How long will they stay?’ he told the Daily Mail in 2012.
Francesca Dow, managing director of children’s at Penguin Random House, which served as Raymond Briggs’ publisher, said: ‘I am very proud that Puffin has been the home of Raymond’s children’s books for so many years.
‘Raymond’s books are picture masterpieces that address some of the fundamental questions of what it is to be human, speaking to both adults and children with a remarkable economy of words and illustrations.
‘Raymond is probably best known for The Snowman. He needed greater freedom perhaps than the standard 32-page picture book format allowed and created a radical and beautiful innovation: a wordless picture book for children, a storyboard of stills that became an instant classic in its own right, as well as the much-loved animation.’
She added: ‘Raymond was a brilliantly observant, funny storyteller, honest about how life is rather than how adults might wish to tell it to children. A kindness, integrity and generosity run through all his books.
‘And so in life: Raymond was a generous, unjealous spirit who was a pleasure to work with, as well as to visit in his Sussex cottage and experience his teasing genius in its home. He was funny! He made us laugh a lot. I will miss him. All of us who had the privilege of working with him will miss him.’
Ms Dow said Briggs had been ‘unique’ and had ‘inspired generations of creators of picture books, graphic novels, and animations’.
She added: ‘He leaves an extraordinary legacy, and a big hole.’