Friday 8 April 2022

Roger Duvoisin - part 3

 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 Medaland 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 parts 1 & 2 also. This is part 3 of an 11 part series on the works of Roger Duvoisin:

1947 East Side West Side by Marcia Davenport
published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York

1947 Moustachio by Douglas Rigby
published by Harper & Brothers

1947 The New Yorker
July 10

1948 Christmas Pony by William Hall
published by Alfred A. Knopf

1948 The New Yorker
June 26

1948 The New Yorker
September 25

1948 The Steam Shovel That Wouldn't Eat Dirt
by George Walters
published by Aladdin Books

c1948 The New Yorker Preparatory sketch
gouache 29.5 x 22 cm

1949 The New Yorker
December 3

1950 Dozens of Cousins by Mabel Watts
published by McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc

1950 Follow the Wind by Alvin Tresselt
published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard

1950 The Christmas Forest by Louise Fatio
published by Aladdin Books

1950 The New Yorker
August 12

1950 The New Yorker
July 26

1950 The New Yorker
May 6

1947 White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt, published by Mulberry Books. Recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1948:

Dust Jacket

Hard Cover





White Snow Bright Snow
graphite and gouache on paper

1948 Johnny Maple-Leaf by Alvin Tresselt, published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard:













1949 Sun Up by Alvin Tresselt:

Dust Jacket

Hard Cover






1950 "Hi, Mister Robin!" by Alvin Tresselt, published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard:









1950 Petunia by Roger Duvoisin:


Cover Artwork
pen and black ink and gouache on two sheets of paper 26.7 x 43.2 cm (sheet)
Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ