George Ancona (December 4, 1929 – January 1, 2021) was an American photo essayist and creator of photo-illustrated children's picture books. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, the son of immigrants from Mexico. He is renowned for creating vivid photo essays that invite children to immerse themselves in new places and cultures, to appreciate the work of everyday life and to accept themselves as well as others. His intimate portraits and straightforward writings celebrate his own Mexican heritage and depression-era upbringing in Brooklyn, NY. Trained as an artist and graphic designer, he entered the children's book field initially as a photographer, and over the past fifty years has authored, photographed and designed over one hundred books that are beloved by children and librarians throughout the Americas.

Early life and education

Ancona was born in 1929 at the start of the Great Depression in Brooklyn, NY. His parents had come separately a few years earlier from Mérida, Yucatán. They married and after first living over an Italian bakery in Williamsburg, settled in Coney Island amidst other recent immigrants from Italy, Ireland and Russia. George attended P.S. 80 Elementary School and spent his free time playing and later working at Coney Island’s notorious Steeplechase Amusement Park. He painted signs for Coney Island at "12 or 13" years and as a teenager "knew I would become an artist". At Abraham Lincoln High School, he had the privilege of being part of the elite Art Squad, led by famed art teacher Leon Friend. While in high school, Ancona was provided the opportunity to present his portfolio to the Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo. Upon graduation, George traveled to Mexico City by bus, and Tamayo arranged for him to study tuition-free at the Academia de San Carlos, where he took courses in drawing, sculpture, and fresco mural painting for five months. Returning to New York, George took night courses at Art Students League and The Cooper Union, while starting his career in design by day at the New York Times. Confident in his skills, he stopped his studies and moved to Esquire, working alongside classmates Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast and Art Kane. With a growing family, he soon moved on to Madison Avenue and worked as an art director at Grey Advertising and later Daniel & Charles Advertising.

Career

Over the years, he had hired and learned from many photographers, and he came to realize that they were having more fun than he was. In 1961, he stepped away from his agency job to take on work as a freelance photographer and cinematographer. At his loft studio on 3rd Avenue and 33rd Street, just below the dance studio of Merce Cunningham, he took on assignments for a wide range of clients, including Children’s Vogue, Charles Jourdan and Marlboro. As a cameraman, Ancona shot documentaries around the world, and did several early segments for Sesame Street, Big Blue Marble and other children's programs. From 1962 to 1970, Ancona moved his family to the Gate Hill Cooperative in Stony Point, NY, where they lived alongside multidisciplinary artists including John Cage, David Tudor, M.C. Richards and Stan Vanderbeek. In 1989, Ancona and his family moved to Santa Fe, NM, where they immersed themselves in the city's culture and Spanish roots. He expanded his photography practice and was an active member of the arts community, garnering recognition from the New Mexico Book Association and received the City of Santa Fe Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2014.

Bibliographical Resources

https://faculty.ucmerced.edu/mmartin-rodriguez/index_files/vhAnconaGeorge.htm

Select awards and honors