Anne Yvonne Gilbert
| Anne Yvonne Gilbert | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1950/1951 (age 65–66) Wallsend, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England |
| Other names | Yvonne Gilbert |
| Occupation | Artist and illustrator |
| Website | yvonnegilbert |
Anne Yvonne Gilbert (born 1950/1951; sometimes credited as Yvonne Gilbert), is a British artist and book illustrator. Her controversial cover design of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 1983 single "Relax" became "one of the most famous record sleeves of all time". While much of her career since then has focused on illustrating the covers and interiors of popular books, Gilbert has also designed series of stamps produced by the Royal Mail depicting Christmas themes and Arthurian mythology. She illustrated several of the books in the popular Ologies series, among other children's books.
Anne Yvonne Gilbert was born in Wallsend and lived in her grandparents' house with her parents. She attended Holy Cross School there as well as Ocean Road School in South Shields, eventually finishing at Morpeth Grammar School for Girls. Her grandmother was an artist, and Gilbert's parents encouraged her talent for art: "I've always drawn since a baby. The seed was planted early when my mother brought me books back from jumble sales." Gilbert spent a brief amount of time at an art college in Liverpool studying graphic design before "stumbling" upon her career as a professional artist. She explained, "I managed to get an agent who got me a job for the Sunday Telegraph drawing six famous people as the historical characters they most wanted to be. Then I cut my teeth on women's magazines."
She lived for a time with Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford (both later members of Frankie Goes To Hollywood). They asked her to create a piece of art for them, but not having enough time, Gilbert gave them an existing "fetish-themed" piece she had drawn for Playboy and Men Only. The cover was featured on their 1983 single "Relax" and quickly became famous, though she claimed not to have made any money from it. According to the Evening Chronicle, her controversial design became "one of the most famous record sleeves of all time" and led to Gilbert becoming the recipient of "global attention."
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