Roger Duvoisin - part 2

Roger Duvoisin (1904–1980) was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and in 1927, moved to New York for a job in textile design. When the company folded, he decided to publish a book he’d written and illustrated for his son. A Little Boy Drawing (Charles Scribner’s Sons) was released in 1932, and he followed it with Donkey, Donkey, which firmly established his career in children’s books—and is still in print, now from NYR Children’s Collection.

Roger’s signature style was colourful, bold, and graphic, and he had a strong sense of composition and design. He incorporated both humour and drama into the lines of his art and delivered compassion without being sentimental. Over the years, he wrote and illustrated over forty books, including series that featured Petunia the silly goose and Veronica the conspicuous hippo, folktales such as the Three Sneezes and The Crocodile in the Tree, and concept books such as A for the Ark.

Roger also created pictures for over 140 books by other authors. Among them were the popular Happy Lion books written by his wife, Louise Fatio, and nineteen books by Alvin R. Tresselt, including White Snow, Bright Snow, which was awarded a Caldecott Medal, and Hide and Seek Fog, which was named a Caldecott Honour Book. Four of his titles were New York Times Best Illustrated Books, and in 1976, he received the Kerlan Award for Children’s Literature. His work is on display in the Duvoisin Gallery at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers, in New Brunswick, NJ.

For earlier works see part 1 also. This is part 2 of an 11 part series on the works of Roger Duvoisin:

1945 The New Yorker
February 10

1946 At Daddy's Office by Robert Jay Misch
published by Alfred A. Knopf

1944 A Child's Garden of Verses by by Robert Louis Stevenson:

Front Cover

Boats in a Stream

Burning Leaves

Children's Parade

Cow

Falling Down Stairs

Fire

Flamingo and Crocodile

Seated Girl

Rain

Mother and Child

Little Leaf Boat

In the Garden

In Bed

Grandmother

Girl Dreaming in a Chair

Frog and Boat

Swing

The Keyhole

The Lamplighter

The Shore

Through a Window, Asleep

Up a Tree

1945 The Christmas Whale by Roger Duvoisin, published by Alfred A. Knopf:

Front Cover

 

1946 Daddies What They Do All Day by Helen Walker Puner, published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard:

Wrap Around Cover

Hardback Cover