RUTHERSTON, ALBERT (1881-1953) "In Search Of The Bluebird." Watercolor and ink on paper and mounted on larger board; 6 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches. Illustration for The Children's Bluebird by Georgette Leblanc (Mme Maurice Maeterlinck), London: Methuen, 1929. Signed "Albert R." lower left. Matted and framed. To show his support of the British cause during World War I, Jewish-English artist Albert Daniel Rothenstein changed his name in 1916 to the more Anglo "Albert Rutherston." He painted landscapes and portraits and designed posters and stage sets, but illustrated relatively few books. The Children's Bluebird is the most important one. Belgian Symbolist Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) created an international sensation when The Bluebird was produced by Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theater. On opening in 1908, it was immediately hailed as the most important children's play since J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan of 1904. And like that of Peter Pan, the story of The Bluebird was available to young readers in a variety of forms. Perhaps the most charming edition was the third, The Children's Bluebird, retold by the playwright's wife and illustrated by Rutherston. 1929
