Remembering Jerry Pinkney

10/22/2021

Today we honor and mourn the loss of renowned children's illustrator Jerry Pinkney, who died October 20 at the age of 81. Mr. Pinkney was one of the most highly-regarded illustrators of our time, winning numerous awards and medals for his work.

A review of his portfolio shows two broad themes. One is beautifully detailed illustrations of beloved fairy tales in which he often took the familiar characters from their traditional settings and placed them into more relatable places, making their faces more diverse.  A great example is his poignant pictures in The Little Match Girl, which he sets in a prosperous city in America, with the titular character a Black girl, instead of the European setting and white face most often seen.  Mr. Pinkney is also known for his amazing drawings and paintings illustrating African folk tales, African-American history, and everyday African-American life. His motivation for this body of his work was his own and his children’s experiences trying to find books with faces that looked like them and not being able to do so.

A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Pinkney struggled in school due to dyslexia and found art to be an escape from both his difficulties in school and the racist indignities of the time. While his father did not see art as a career, his mother encouraged his love of it and enrolled him in classes that increased his natural talents. His first foray as a professional artist was illustrating greeting cards and textbooks, and he also worked in advertising before becoming a full-time illustrator. Mr. Pinkney’s body of work includes over 100 books that span a career over 6 decades long. His contribution to both children’s literature and celebrating diversity is truly legendary.