Saturday, February 23, 2008

Robert Lawson


Robert Lawson
American illustrator
born 1892 - died 1957

Robert Lawson was an illustrator with a beautiful style, especially for animals and for eras gone by. He won the Caldecott Award in 1940 for They Were Strong and Good. These illustrations are from that book and from Country Colic, published in 1940.

Thanks to David Miller who provided these scans from his collection.

Click on pictures for full-size images.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Leonard Weisgard


Leonard Weisgard
American illustrator
born 1916 New Haven, Connecticut; died 2000 Denmark

Leonard Weisgard illustrated more than 200 children's books, and was a Caldecott winner for The Little Island. Several websites are devoted to Weisgard, including this biographical site.

This book, The Big Big Book of Nursery Tales was published by Grosset and Dunlap in 1954. Author of the work, Evelyn Andreas, was credited only on the title page. It was Weisgard's artwork that was the selling point of the book.

Click on pictures for full-size images.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Jack Davis


Jack Davis
American cartoonist and illustrator
b. 1924


Jack Davis has a career unparalleled in American cartooning or illustrating. He started out in the early 1950s scaring kids with covers and stories for Tales From The Crypt, then went into Mad comics and magazine, and from there branched into advertising and every other medium available.


Because of his skill at humor most of his work is funny, but he can also draw serious subjects. He illustrated three books for Random House in the mid-1960s, Meet The North American Indians, Meet Theodore Roosevelt and Meet Abraham Lincoln. With Lincoln's birthday being observed on February 12, it seems appropriate to commemorate it with these wonderful drawings by the master, Jack Davis.

Click on pictures for full-size images.