Peggy Fortnum

Margaret Emily Noel Fortnum (23 December 1919 – 28 March 2016) as pen name Peggy Fortnum was an English illustrator best known for illustrating children's literature series Paddington Bear.

Biography
Fortnum was born in England on 23 December 1919, at Harrow, Middlesex. She briefly attended Tunbridge Wells School of Art in 1939, before she enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II. While in the military, she sustained serious injuries when she was run over by a truck, requiring a prolonged period of recovery.

After her recovery from her injuries she attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. She worked as an art teacher, painter, and textile designer before becoming a full-time book illustrator. She has illustrated nearly eighty books (2015). Fortnum's first commission was for "Dorcas the Wooden Doll" by Mary Fielding Moore, published in 1944.

Her best-known illustrations are of Michael Bond's character, Paddington Bear. The first illustrations of Paddington were made by Fortnum for "A Bear called Paddington". Fortnum's original illustrations were used for HarperCollins's 1998 reissue of "A Bear Called Paddington", which celebrated the first Paddington book's 40th anniversary.

Although her pen-and-ink drawings of Paddington were done in black and white, some of her work has been coloured by other artists, including her step granddaughter, Caroline Nuttall-Smith. One of Fortnum's Paddington illustrations was part of a series of first class stamps issued by the Royal Mail in 2006 that celebrated animals from children's literature.

Personal life
Fortnum married artist and sculptor Ralph Nuttall-Smith in 1958 (died 1988). Fortnum resided in Essex, England. and died in March 2016 at the age of 96. She suffered from dementia. She was survived by her two nephews, the film historian Kevin Brownlow, and the sculptor John Fortnum.