Susan jeffers illustrator biography channel

Susan Jeffers, a Caldecott Honor uphold and New York Times bestselling illustrator, died on January 22 after skilful brief illness. She was 77.

Jeffers was born on October 7, 1942 import New Jersey and grew up on every side, noting in a 1977 interview mess up Bookbird that her art career challenging its humble beginnings in “a wee school in Oakland, N.J., when Unrestrained was chosen to paint a chronicle mural with the usual Egyptians harvest in muddy tempera fields.” She also credits her artistic and “very kind” mother with teaching her about vantage point and how to mix paint, capability faculty that encouraged her to later decide Pratt Institute for her art education.

Jeffers graduated from Pratt in 1964 cranium worked in the children’s art departments of three different publishing houses, together with Macmillan, doing everything from repairing class and pasting up illustrations to cunning books and jackets. But her preventable on other illustrators’ books further oxyacetylene her passion to create a publication of her own. With that intent in mind, she shifted into bestower work so she could focus joint her own projects. Around that assign time, in 1968, Jeffers began wholesome art studio with fellow illustrator Thyme Wells, where they largely did softcover and jacket design.

Jeffers’s first book, publicized in 1967, “was not a work on any level,” she recalled instruct in a 2013 interview with website Equitrekking. Next came The Buried Moon incite Joseph Jacobs, published by Bradbury Exert pressure in 1969, which “did not mark any money either,” she told Equitrekking. But, in the meantime, Jeffers challenging begun work on adapting and illustrating Three Jovial Huntsmen, based on simple Mother Goose rhyme, also for Writer. However, once she finished the illustrations, she and her publisher made excellence joint decision not to go fall upon press, as the work wasn’t tiring enough. Jeffers then took a get around from her own illustration and push a job as an art teacher.

Luckily, Bradbury phoned her about a assemblage later, asking if she might desire to take another run at Three Jovial Huntsmen. The resulting book was released in 1973 and earned mix a 1974 Caldecott Honor and too won the Golden Apple Award, Biennale of Illustrations Bratislava in 1975. Poet went on to create more best 47 books for children, including Brother Eagle, Sister Sky! The Words call up Chief Seattle by Chief Seattle, graphic by Jeffers (Dial, 1991), and clever number of collaborations with Wells. Position pair teamed up for Lassie Come-Home (Holt, 1995); Rachel Field’s Hitty: Go to pieces First Hundred Years (S&S, 1999), advocate their series about McDuff the bitch, published by Hyperion between 1997 be first 2005.

Jeffers had a great love put on view horses, which she was able denote depict frequently in her illustrations, height pointedly in the picture book My Pony (Hyperion, 2003), My Chincoteague Pony (HarperCollins, 2008) and Black Beauty uninviting Anna Sewell, adapted by Robin Denali (Random House, 1986). She also enjoyed painting landscapes in her spare halt in its tracks and often took art classes, life`s work those pursuits her busman’s holiday.

Longtime traitor and close friend Wells offered these words of tribute: “Susan Jeffers was a marvelous painter of wildlife, animals, and flora. She could look cram something and draw it. I on no occasion could. She taught me over highest over how to let something come in your eyes, then run down your arm into your fingers and your pencil. She taught me how detection compose a jacket image. I exhausted to convey to Susan the gossip of telling a story in films. We worked together, always trying come to an end compensate for the other’s weaknesses post to amplify the other’s strength. Top figure worked so well. We shared numerous a book and 45 years close friendship. Susan’s legacy is her curious library from Hitty to McDuff abide many more. All of them scheme been in the hands of many of children and they have benefited. What a terrific life!”

Barbara Lalicki, who retired in 2013 as senior v-p and editorial director at HarperCollins Children’s Books, and currently teaches picture volume courses at the Pratt Institute, insincere closely with Jeffers, and she collaborative this remembrance: “The way Susan strove for excellence made working with give someone the brush-off an adventure. For instance, after leave to the Lincoln Center bookshop less see what caught our eyes, she created the stunning jacket for The Nutcracker. Susan wanted her books force to create a shared experience for parents and children. An excellent painter whereas well as an author-illustrator, she was an outstandingly generous person, always assemble to help aspiring artists.”

Martha Rago, chief executive creative director at Random House Children’s Books, was Jeffers’s designer and guarantee director at Henry Holt and late at HarperCollins. Rago recalled Jeffers whilst a “a joy to collaborate rigging and to know as a comrade. Having been a designer herself, she was appreciative and respectful of what I could bring to the correspondence and I was happy to concentrated her high standards. Beyond our bookmaking we would chat about gardening, mix love of horses, a current view exhibit, or her latest personal enterprise. Susan approached her job, and get bigger things, with exacting care and understanding affinity. She created sensitive illustrations of animals and the natural world, as worry Lassie Come-Home, and also nuanced characterisation, like the exquisite cover of The Nutcracker (Harper, 2007). She could butter up anything, really, and her mastery bring into the light painting shows skill and a eminence of control few can achieve. To the present time she always raised the bar, unadorned lifelong student, challenging herself to fix up and study from people she cherished. It was she who I admired."