I am delighted to share with you this weeks two artists in our series of 10 children’s illustrators you should know: Tasha Tudor and Robert McCloskey.
The whimsy and old-world feel of Tasha Tudor’s works are what first captured my attention and eventually won my heart. Tasha Tudor’s artwork appears in over one hundred different titles published world-wide. Additionally, she both wrote and illustrated more than two dozen published texts of her own.
Born in 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts, Mrs. Tudor primarily resided in New England all of her life, working their to her last years until her death in 2008. Tasha Tudor was a gifted artist who captured special moments, called upon remembrances of days gone-by, and cultivating the hearts and imaginations of generations past, present, and yet to come. I hope you enjoy some of my favorites of her works here.
Some author illustrators hold a sentimental place in our hearts. Robert McCloskey is one of those for me. I can hardly pass up a copy of Blueberries for Sal or Make Way for Ducklings, and will not indulge you by telling you how many copies I have owned or presently own of both these books.
Robert McCloskey was born in 1914 in Hamilton, Ohio. An artist from the start, McCloskey could play many instruments, carve and sculpt figures from soap bars to tree trunks, and would later, after publishing his first two books, serve as a technical sergeant based at Fort McClellan, Alabama during World War II. During the middle of war, McCloskey published his third book, Homer Price, one which I would recommend for boys of all ages to love and laugh over. Robert McCloskey died in 2003, leaving a lasting legacy for children the world over.
McCloskey won two Caldecott Award Metals for his illustrations or Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings, and he both wrote and illustrated seven books of his own amid providing the illustrations for many other works. Here are a few of my very favorite of Mr. McCloskey’s books.
