Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone

Identical Twin Sister Illustrators

Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone were born on June 1, 1928, in Marylebone, London. They were so identical, that their brother, Murray, described them as “being one and a half people rather than two”.

From an early age, the Johnstone sisters both displayed a natural aptitude for art—which was supported by their mother, the portraitist and costume designer, Doris Zinkeisen. Zinkeisen and her twin daughters would go on to live together for the entirety of their lives—first in a Kensington apartment and later in the village of Badingham in the Suffolk countryside.

After graduating from St. Martin’s School of Art in London, the Johnstones pursued careers in illustration. By the mid-1950s, their art was seen in comics, children’s books, and designs for the popular BBC show “Watch With Mother”.