John Anster Fitzgerald

John Anster Fitzgerald (John Anster Christian Fitzgerald, “Fairy Fitzgerald”; 1819 – 1906) was a renowned Fantasy artist from the UK, particularly celebrated for his contributions to the Victorian era’s fairy painting genre. His art style was unique and often dark, with many of his fairy paintings containing images of ghouls, demons, and references to drug use. His work has been compared to the Surreal nightmare-scapes of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel. Fitzgerald’s technique involved the use of brilliant colours, especially reds, blues, and purples. His paintings were largely self-taught and were remarkable fairy pictures of pure fantasy, rarely based on any literary theme. His art was not only a reflection of the Victorian era’s fascination with fairies but also a commentary on the era’s drug scene.