The Modest Dutch Designer Who Made Millions From Miffy

Dick Bruna, who has died aged 89, created one of the most instantly recognisable characters in children’s literature, said The New York Times: the sparsely drawn white rabbit known in English as Miffy.

Over half a century, Bruna wrote more than 120 children’s books – small and square, ideal for little hands – which sold some 85 million copies; he became the most translated Dutch-language author after Anne Frank, while Miffy – adored not just by children, but by art critics and designers, too – was featured on everything from key rings to posters. In 2015, Bruna’s work was the subject of an exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and in his home town of Utrecht, there is a Miffy museum.