Garth Williams’s historic, iconic masterpiece of children’s book art appeared on the cover of E. B. White’s beloved classic, Charlotte’s Web, published by Harper & Brothers in 1952. 

Rather than depict a specific scene in the story, Williams invites the would-be readers of the book to consider the characters of the story in a thematic tableaux.

Brady Schwind, the Executive Director of the Arts of Imagination Foundation notes: “the large major characters, human and animal alike, occupy most of the cover’s space. But their eyes are all on Charlotte, the spider - the smallest, the most insignificant.  But it's she who gets the title, the focus, and who changes the world with her actions. It's a reminder for all of us to never underestimate the power of doing small things with great love.”

Using his own young daughter, Fiona, as the model for the character Fern Arable, Garth Williams drew the original artwork in pen and ink on paper. He also created a watercolor study to show the book’s publisher how he envisioned the finished cover, as color would only be added during the printing process.

Charlotte’s Web has rarely been re-illustrated since its initial publication, and copies throughout the world feature Garth Williams’s seminal original cover design.