On this day, January 28, 1927, children’s book author and illustrator Vera Williams was born in Hollywood, California. Trained at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, Williams did not begin creating her own stories until the late 1970s.
On this day, January 27, 2009, illustrator and author Blair Lent died in Medford, Massachusetts. Trained at the Boston Museum School, Lent illustrated both his own stories as well as stories by others including the retelling of a Lafcadio Hearn story, The Wave written by Margaret Hodges.
On this day, January 26, 1882, illustrator Gerrit Albertus Beneker was born Grand Rapids, Michigan. He studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Art Students League in New York. Beneker’s specialty was illustrations of the workingman because he believed in art as a constructive force.
On this day, January 25, 1966, illustrator Bradshaw Crandell died in Madison, Connecticut. Although Crandell attended classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago he was a student at Wesleyan University (but did not graduate). Crandell’s career exploded in the 1920s with illustrations for popular magazines and his work evolved into a specialty
On this day, January 24, 1936, illustrator Doug Chaffee was born in New York. He studied art and art history at Bob Jones University. After a 20 year career at IBM, Chaffee opened his own firm providing illustrations and graphic design services. His work included science fiction illustrations and images for the gaming industry.
On this day, January 23, 1992, the artist illustrator Joseph Mugnaini died in Los Angeles, California. Born in Italy, Mugnaini's family immigrated to the United States when he was an infant. He studied at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles and after the war he taught at Otis. Some of his best known illustration
On this day, January 22, 1970, cartoonist Alex Ross was born in Portland, Oregon. Ross is the son of a commercial artist and studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He began creating comic book art in 1990.
On this day, January 21, 1917, illustrator Francesca Alexander died in Florence, Italy. Born in Boston, her family moved to Italy when she was 16. In Florence she took down the folk tales of the Italian peasants and illustrated them. After John Ruskin began collecting her work, he also saw to it that Alexander's work
On this day, January 20, 1930, illustrator and author Blair Lent was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Lent studied at the Boston Museum School and had a study grant to Italy and Switzerland. His work focused on children's books and illustration, often re-telling foreign tales.
On this day, January 19, 1934, the illustrator Harrison Fisher died in New York City. The son and grandson of artists, Fisher studied at the San Francisco Art Association. After working for Hearst in San Francisco, Fisher moved to New York to work for Hearst’s New York Journal. Best known for his illustrations of beautiful women,