Slide Show: Eloise, the Early Years
Hilary Knight's sketches of the eternally mischievous children's lit icon.
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"I am Eloise."
This sketch was a study for the portrait of Eloise that now hangs in the Plaza Hotel, where she resides, or presides. She looks almost innocent, except for the curl of her lips, the insouciant protrusion of her belly, the alertness of her eyes. There’s an air of Henry VIII in her stance. “I am six,” she announces in the original Eloise. Yes, going on 35.
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Boredom Not Allowed
It’s to Eloise’s credit that she has never been docile. She is certainly spoiled, but she also never develops the desperation to please found in many little girls. Blissfully un-self-conscious, she is free to follow her near-demonic creativity, which Knight captures so well here, wherever it takes her. These images in particular resemble Knight’s illustrations for the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books.
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They Never Expect a Turtle
Skipardee, the aforementioned turtle, with Eloise’s pug, Weenie, holds a special place in the pantheon of good-sport companions in children’s literature. Eloise begins Eloise in Hollywood (2005) with, "There was this one time when Weenie and I were teaching Skipperdee how to make a proper landing behind enemy lines [.] Because they never expect you to send a turtle." Eloise is shown holding Skipardee up to her window with the string of a balloon tied around his middle.
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Ode to the Bawth
Eloise’s fondness for a good soak was commemorated in Eloise Takes a Bawth, which was finally released in 2002 after artistic differences between Knight and Thompson kept it shelved for almost 40 years. Eloise’s face expresses the manifold thoughts swimming around in that head, while the wiggling toes remind us that Eloise is, indeed, 6.
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Eloise and Olivia
Among the illustrators influenced by Knight—and Eloise—is Ian Falconer, creator of Olivia the Pig. She may be less cosmopolitan than Eloise, but she is equally precocious. The Olivia books feature numerous spreads like this one, showing the porcine heroine engaging in different activities. The layout conveys both characters’ short attention spans and boundless energy.
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Hollywood-Bound, With Nanny in Tow
"If your mother is even on-half worth her salt,” says Eloise of her mostly absent, apparently single parent, “then sooner or later she's bound to make the acquaintance of a famous Hollywood Movie Mogul.” Thus Eloise is off to Hollywood, with Nanny, who is mostly no-nonsense, aside from the rare occasions on which she indulges her vices. She is bravely willing to chaperone her charge on trips to Moscow and Hollywood and Paris, none of which is ready for Eloise.
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7 of 7 Eloise, Muse
With that errant jumper strap, the insouciant blouson, and, above all, the penchant for pink, Eloise has been a muse for designers and decorators alike, most recently Betsey Johnson. For Eloise in Paris (1957), Knight sketched Eloise’s fitting with Christian Dior. In the finished book, Eloise reports, "M. Dior designed a dress for me and it is absolutely chic although I would have preferred a tassel or two.”
