May 27, 1960, illustrator James Montgomery Flagg died New York City. Prior to his training at the Art Students League in New York and then his further study in London and Paris, Flagg already worked for Life and Judge magazines. In 1917 he first created his most famous illustration as a magazine cover illustration for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly
On this day, May 26, 2012, Leo Dillon died in Brooklyn, New York. Illustrator Dillon was trained at Parsons School of Design in New York, where he met his wife and collaborator, Diane Dillon. Together they created both science fiction illustrations and images for children’s literature. In 1975 and 76 they were awarded consecutive Caldecott Medals for
On this day, May 25, 1856, William Wallace Denslow born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After brief periods of studying art at the National Academy of Design and the Cooper Union in New York, Denslow began traveling as an artist and newspaper reporter. In Chicago Denslow met L. Frank Baum and began illustrating his books including The
On this day, May 24, 1925, comic artist Carmine Infantino was born in Brooklyn, New York. After doing free-lance illustrations for comic book publishers, Infantino was hired by DC Comics where he revamped The Flash and in the 1960s gave Batman a new look.
On this day, May 23, 1915, William Timmins was born in Chicago, Illinois. The son of illustrator Harry Timmins, William study art at the Art Students League and the Grand Central Art School in New York. Timmins worked in pulp and science fiction illustration and then specialized in western scenes.
On this day, May 22, 1985, Wolfgang Reitherman, the German-American Disney animator, director and producer died in Burbank, California. Reitherman began working for Disney in 1934 and eventually became Disney's chief animation director. In 1969 he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.
On this day, May 21, 1922, the political cartoon, "On the Road to Moscow", by Rollin Kirby, won a Pulitzer Prize. It was the first cartoon awarded the Pulitzer.
On this day, May 20, 1916, The Saturday Evening Post publishes its first Norman Rockwell cover illustration of a Boy with the Baby Carriage.
On this day, May 19, 1950, author and illustrator Arthur Dorros was born in Washington, D.C. After studying at the University of Wisconsin and traveling, Dorros began authoring and illustrating in the 1980s and has produced more than 20 children’s books since then.
On this day, May 18, 1918, illustrator Joe Krush was born in Camden, New Jersey. During the Nüremburg Trials Krush was assigned to assist the court by preparing illustrations. Later with his wife Beth Krush, he illustrated many children’s books. Five in The Borrowers series and All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown by Sydney Taylor.