Lilian Brøgger: Illustrator – Denmark

born on the danish island of Fanø in 1950, Lilian Brøgger knew from the beginning that she wanted to draw. Studying at the School of Design in Copenhagen 1967-1972, she was the first student to graduate as an illustrator. She has since then illustrated over a hundred works.

After graduating, Brøgger has worked with different styles and techniques. Her earlier work in the 1970s can be characterized by the current social and realist style, whereas her style in the 1980s changed to a less realistic and more poetic one. Since then Brøgger’s style has continued to develop throughout the decades, following the trend of post-modernism and deconstruction through the 1990s and the early 2000s. Her openness to new styles and themes has contributed to her popularity.

Although Lilian Brøgger has explored several techniques and styles, her work has since the 1980s remained within the frame of surrealism. Inspired by illustrators such as Slovakian Dusan Kallay, Brøgger has published works such as Alice in Wonderland—where her drawings take a step away from the conventional, letting go of traditional figures in favor of the surreal and poetic. While surreal and emotional, Brøgger’s illustrations often have a light-heartedness that carries a certain sense of harmony one can easily get lost in.

Besides working as an illustrator, Lilian Brøgger has also worked as a teacher at the School of Design in Kolding where she has taught her craft to new illustrators. Brøgger has held posts in the Danish Writers Association’s group of illustrators and on the board of IBBY Denmark. She has also worked as a juror at exhibitions as well as conducting workshops around the world.

Working as an illustrator for over thirty years, Lilian Brøgger has received many awards—among them the Association of Children’s Librarians’ Cultural Award in 1982, The Ministry of Culture’s Award for Initiative 1986, a Golden Apple at the Bratislava Biennale (BiB) in 2005, and the Grand Prix at the Tallinn Triennale (TiT) in 2006. Brøgger has also been nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award several times before and most recently won The Association for Book Craft’s Award of Honour for Best Book Design of the Year for The Hole in the Sky (2012).