Ernest Shepard (British, 1879-1976) is best known for his illustration work for children's author A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne, and most noteably for his representations of characters in the Winne-the-Pooh stories. Shepard was born on December 10, 1879, in London. His father was an architect, and his mother, who died when Shepard was 10 years old, was the daughter of watercolorist William Lee. From an early age, Shepard was encouraged by both parents to pursue a career as an artist. After his mother's death, Shepard, his father, and his siblings lived with his paternal aunts for about a year before moving to a home in Hammersmith where many of their neighbors were artists. He studied drawing at Heatherley's Art School for one year, and he was subsequently accepted to the Royal Academy School on a scholarship in 1897. In 1904, he married Florence Chaplin, a fellow student at the Royal Academy. Before serving in the Royal Artillery in World War I, Shepard designed book jackets and provided illustrations for various journals and magazines. After the armistice, Shepard continued to draw and send illustrations to be considered for publication while stationed abroad in Italy. Beginning in 1921, Shepard would become steadily employed by , to which he would contribute for nearly fifty years as an illustrator and cartoonist. Shepard served on the editorial board of , and through this capacity he met Milne and E. V. (Edward Verrall) Lucas, a writer, fellow board member, and Meuthen & Co. publishing house chairman. Meuthen would go on to publish many of the over 50 children's and adult books Shepard would illustrate in his lifetime. In addition to fictional stories and verse, Shepard illustrated his two childhood and early adulthood memoirs, (1957) and (1961). He was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1972. Shepard died on March 24, 1976, in Midhurst, United Kingdom.