The Queen of the Fishes (1894): Art, History and Details

The Queen of the Fishes (1894) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Lucien Pissarro (British, 1863–1944).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

“The Queen of the Fishes” is a French fairy tale about two mistreated children who turn into a fish and an oak tree. This edition was the first book published by the Eragny Press, the private firm of Lucien Pissarro, son of impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. Following the example of William Morris, Lucien wanted to return to the careful design and high-quality materials of early printed books. He and his wife, Esther Bensusan Pissarro, made this publication almost entirely by hand, including designing and engraving all the illustrations and ornaments.

Object facts

• Title: The Queen of the Fishes
• Date: 1894
• Creator attribution: Lucien Pissarro (British, 1863–1944)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Bound Volume
• Technique: Bound volume with color wood-engraved illustrations
• Dimensions: Overall: 19.2 x 13.3 cm (7 9/16 x 5 1/4 in.)
• Collection: PR - Woodcut
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1970.50

A detail from the museum

Lucian Pissarro was a son of Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro.

Collection credit

Gift of Henry H. Hawley for the fiftieth anniversary of The Print Club of Cleveland

Further reading listed by the museum

• Montañés-lleras, Susana. “Of Technology and Fantasy: fairy tales, fables, and the transformation of illustration in the long 19th century.” Gramarye : The Journal of the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy 28 (Winter 2025): 51-65.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.