Discovering Louis Slobodkin
Last night a gentleman came by on his bicycle ran into the gallery and handed me an old children s book as a gift. I had never met the man and was surprised but he said he heard I liked toys and thought I might enjoy the book. Wow it happened again… I have so many wonderful little treasures that people give me and I cherish them! Well I was curious about the author so I did a bit of digging and thought I would share today. As you can see from the title we will be discovering Louis Slobokin.
Louis Slobodkin, was born in Albany, New York, on February 19, 1903. He began the serious study of art at the age of 15, when he entered the Beaux Arts Institute of Design, where he studied sculpture, drawing, and composition. In his six years there, he won over 20 medals for his work, and was awarded the Louis Tiffany Foundation Fellowship.
In the 1930s and 1940s, he was very well known for his sculptures, became a part of the New Deal public works arts program, eventually heading the New York City Arts Project. His sculptures can be found in Washington, D.C. (the “Young Abe Lincoln” in the U.S. Dept. of the Interior building), New York City, and other cities. I thought I was discovering an author only to find he was quite an sculptor, illustrator and all around artist as well.
Slobodkin married Florence Gersh, a poet and children’s book writer in 1927, but he didn’t immediately become involved with children’s literature. He illustrated his first children’s book in 1941, The Moffats, by his friend, Eleanor Estes, with whom he collaborated on five more books. In 1944, he won the Caldecott Medal for illustrating Many Moons, written by James Thurber. During his career, Slobodkin illustrated nearly 90 books, 50 of which he also wrote. The book that was gifted to me is part of a series “To The Apple Tree” and is great fun as a space ship returns to the apple tree.
My copy is 2nd edition but will be a great addition to by children book collection…Oh yes I have those too! Thank you mysterious bike man!
