Ivanovsky divided her illustrating activities between children’s books and books for ‘grown ups’. Among these books one stands out particularly. It is Bestiary of dreams. Ivanovsky first heard of Meurant through her friend Zinaida Shakhovskaia, a member of the Poets’ journal. She was greatly interested in the surrealist group around the Poets’ Journal, and her connection with this group resulted in a commission to etch Meurant’s portrait for his book Gages published by the journal in 1938. The 20 illustrations for Bestiary of dreams were executed in grey gouache miniatures and designed in close co-operation with the author at the end of 1942. The book was printed in January of the next year. Her collaboration with Hellens had been mutually beneficiary (see nr. 129) but the co-operation between the poet Meurant and Ivanovsky went further, since both ended up happily married together. Three children were born from this marriage: a daughter and two sons. Both sons followed the footsteps of their parents, the youngest as an artist, the eldest as a poet. At the end of her career Ivanovsky, by exeption, illustrated poems written by her son, as she had decided to specialize on illustrations for children’s books only.

References:

Conversation 2001, pp.58, 77

Brussels 2005, nr. 132

LS 2007, no. 1943.1