Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addressed diverse themes and were usually done in watercolors. In 1994, Pinkney obtained the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for the book John Henry and he has received five Coretta Scott King Awards for illustration. In 2010, he received the Caldecott Medal for his book The Lion & the Mouse. His book A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation (2019), illustrated by Pinkney and written by Barry Wittenstein, won the Orbis Pictus Award for 2020. In 2000, Pinkney received the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award from Kent State University, and, in 2004, he was awarded the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for outstanding contributions in the field of children's literature. In 2016, Pinkney received the Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. Pinkney has partnered with the United States Postal Service, National Park Service, and National Geographic for his illustration work. His art has also been featured in numerous exhibitions.

Biography

Early life

Pinkney was born in Philadelphia on December 22, 1939, to Williemae and James Pinkney. Pinkney was the middle child in a family of five siblings. Pinkney struggled in school due to dyslexia, but excelled at drawing, even at the young age of 4. During Pinkney's youth, his mother encouraged him to develop his skills by enrolling him in art classes, but Pinkney's father did not consider art a sustainable career until Pinkney grew older.

Career

During his early teens, Pinkney worked at a local newspaper stand, where he would pass the time by drawing city life. Pinkney's talent caught the eye of customer and cartoonist John Liney, who worked on the Henry comic strips. Liney showed Pinkney how artistry could be used for commercial purposes. Pinkney attended the Murrell Dobbins Vocational High School for his secondary education and met his future wife, Gloria Jean Pinkney, during this time. Pinkney graduated from Murrell Dobbins in 1957 and was granted a full scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum College of Art (now University of the Arts). Pinkney only attended the Philadelphia College of Art for a few years, leaving to start a family with wife Gloria. In 1960, Pinkney began working for The Rust Craft Greeting Card Company in Dedham, Massachusetts. Pinkney later worked at Barker-Black Studio, where he illustrated his first picture book in collaboration with Joyce Cooper Arkhurst called, The Adventures of Spider: West African Folk Tales (1964). He, along with two other artists, opened Kaleidoscope Studio a few years later. Pinkney opened his own freelance studio, Jerry Pinkney Studios, in 1968. During the 1970s, Pinkney worked on the Black Heritage Stamp Series for the United States Postal Service. During the 1980s Pinkney began to receive additional recognition for his work, including a Coretta Scott King Award for his collaboration with author Patricia McKissack on Mirandy and Brother Wind (1989). Pinkney also collaborated with the National Geographic Magazine and the National Park Service on the topic of the Underground Railroad. Pinkney also worked as an educator, teaching at colleges and universities like the University of Delaware, the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and the University at Buffalo, in Buffalo, New York. Pinkney's work was included in the 2015 exhibition We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s at the Woodmere Art Museum.

Professional memberships

Personal life

Jerry Pinkney and Gloria Jean Pinkney have four children: Troy, Brian, Scott, and Myles. Brian Pinkney and his wife Andrea Davis Pinkney also write books for children. The other Pinkney children, including Jerry and Gloria Pinkney's six grandchildren, all participate in the arts, which Gloria calls a continuation of “the Pinkney tradition.” Pinkney lived in Croton-on-Hudson in New York with his wife Gloria, where he worked out of his freelance studio, Jerry Pinkney Studio, since 1971. Pinkney died of a heart attack on October 20, 2021, in Sleepy Hollow, New York, at the age of 81.

Art style and themes

Art style

Pinkney got his start drawing in pencil and his early works were black and white productions. Pinkney used a combination of watercolors and pencils for the majority of his work, along with other materials, such as, "pastel[s], color pencils, and Cray-Pas". In an interview, he stated watercolors are his "medium of choice." Pinkney's "intricate detail" is considered "rare" for a person who uses watercolors.

Themes

Pinkney researched the subjects of his works for accuracy, such as the dress of the characters involved and the time periods. Pinkney also used live models for establishing character poses. Pinkney has stated he liked to draw animals the most and to give these characters human features. Many of Pinkney's titles are on diverse themes and topics, such as African American history, and Pinkney has stated his stories are a way for him to "revisit" his childhood. His recent book, A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr and the Speech That Inspired a Nation (2019), portrays Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 March on Washington "I Have A Dream" speech. A number of Pinkney's works retell Aesop Fables, such as The Grasshopper & The Ants (2015) and The Lion and the Mouse (2009).

Literary works

Children's books

Illustrated novels

Plays

Other contributions

Awards and recognition

Pinkney has received many awards for his work as an illustrator over the years and has been recognized by multiple organizations for his contributions as an artist.

Awards

Recognition

Art exhibitions

Postage stamps

In 1977, the United States Postal Service commissioned Pinkney to create the first stamp of the Black Heritage postage stamp series, a series honoring prolific African Americans in United States history. Pinkney completed a total of eleven portraits for the series, and his designs featured images of Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Benjamin Banneker, Whitney Young, Jackie Robinson, Scott Joplin, Carter Woodson, Mary McLeod Bethune and Sojourner Truth.