The Danish artist Kay Nielsen’s luminous interpretations of fairytales and legends from around the world are among the most celebrated book illustrations of the twentieth century, unsurpassed in their dramatic intensity and intricate detail. This book is the first to put his achievements in the context of a career that took him from study in Paris, to the Copenhagen theater, to galleries in London and New York, to the Walt Disney Studios—presenting fresh insights into his life and work as well as into his materials and techniques. Dazzling reproductions of more than 75 original watercolors and drawings from one of the premiere collections of Nielsen’s work invite viewers to enter the enchanted world of an imaginative and supremely gifted artist.