Kenneth Norman Lilly (30 December 1929 - Spring 1996; Bromley, UK)
Kenneth Lilly was one of the finest of British nature artists, his drawings of wildlife - most notably the kind of wildlife you would find in your hedgerow or nearby fields - drawn with a passion and interest for the subject.

Born in Bromley, Kent, Lilly became a prolific contributor of illustrations and covers to Look and Learn and Treasure. He produced a number of notable series for the former, illustrating Maxwell Knight's This Month in the Country (1967) and Ken Denham's series on Animal Families (1968).

Lilly was also a regular illustrator of books from the 1970s onwards and an exhibition of his animal paintings was held at the Medici Galleries in London in 1983. Some of the best illustrations can be found in Kenneth Lilly's Animals (1988). As well as books, Lilly also illustrated a set of stamps entitled Nature Conservation: Species at Risk, released in 1986. The 17p stamp showed a Barn Owl, the 22p stamp showed a Pine Marten, the 31p showed a Wild Cat, the 34p showed a Natterjack Toad. At the time Ken Lilly lived in Colyton, Devon.

In 1992, Dorling Kindersley published a series of short children's books under the title Kenneth Lilly's Animal Ark, which grouped animals with common features (feathers, scales, spots or stripes) with a single sentence description by Angela Wilkes. A later series by Tessa Potter featured different animals and different seasons. One of his most notable series was a number of books which depicted animals at life size.

Lilly, who lived in Devon, died in the spring of 1996, aged 66.
Source: From biographical notes by Steve Holland