On this day, December 18, 1881, illustrator Clifford Ashley was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Before going to Wilmington, Delaware to study with Howard Pyle, Ashley studies at the Eric Pape Art School in Boston and with George Noyes in Massachusetts. Ashley specialized in images of sailing vesels and in 1944 published his encyclopedic book of knots,
On this day, December 17, 1904, the illustrator William Lipkind was born in New York City. Lipkind trained as an anthropolgist he was famous for his picture book collaborations, under the pseudonym Will, with Nicholas Mordvinoff.
On this day, December 16, 1969, illustrator E. B. (Earl Bradley) Lewis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After studying at Temple University in Philadelphia, Lewis began to work as a teacher and as a children's book illustrator. His images are primarily made in watercolor.
On this day, December 15, 1969, comic artist Rick Law was born. In 1995 Law created the black & white comic series Beyond the Veil, writing and illustrating the series.
On this day, December 14, 1912, illustrator James Avati was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Trained as an architect, after WWII Avati began doing window dressing and by the end of the 40s was painting covers for paperback books such as the one seen here, the 1953 cover of J. D. Salinger's Catcher In the Rye.
Winsor McCay (1867-1934)The Last Day of Manhattan, 1905Illustration published in the New York Herald (Sunday February 26, 1905): Magazine Section, p. 6. Under the title of the above illustration and below the picture are two more sentences describing what McCay’s image illustrates: (Above) Being some Consideration of the End of some Things as seen
On this day, December 13, 1901, commercial artist and children's book illustrator Corinne Malvern was born in Accomac County, Virginia. Malvern worked as an art editor for Ladies Home Journal and she also illustrated 17 books in the Little Golden Books series, including Frosty, The Snow Man.
On this day, December 12, 1970, illustrator and artist Philip W. Prugh died in Xenia, Ohio. Prugh worked primarily as a freelance illustrator in Chicago, Illinois from 1912 through 1932. His training was at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
On this day, December 10, 1953, illustrator and author Janny Wurts born was in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Wurts is an American fantasy novelist who writes on her own and also collaboratively and is also a talented illustrator.
On this day, December 9, 1900, illustrator Margaret (Hedda Johnson) Brundage was born Chicago, Illinois. A classmate of Walt Disney's in high school, Brundage went on to paint cover illustrations for pulp magazines such as Weird Tales and Oriental Stories.