Alice Rose Provensen (''née'' Twitchell; August 14, 1918 – April 23, 2018
) and Martin Provensen (July 10, 1916 – March 27, 1987) were an American couple who illustrated more than 40 children's books together, 19 of which they also wrote and edited.
[ According to Alice, "we were a true collaboration. Martin and I really were one artist."][
]
Biographies
Their early lives were similar. Both were born in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and both moved to California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
when they were twelve.[ Both received scholarships to the Art Institute of Chicago, and both attended the ]University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
, though at separate campuses. After college, Alice went to work with Walter Lantz Studio
Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios.
The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...
, the creators of Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972.
Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...
, and Martin took work with the Walt Disney Studio, where he collaborated on ''Pinocchio
Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...
'', '' Fantasia'', and ''Dumbo
''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, ...
''.
The pair met in 1943 when Martin, working as a creator of training films for the American military, was assigned to the Walter Lantz Studio. They were married in 1944 and settled in Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, where they worked on war-related projects. After the war they moved to New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
where a friend helped them get their first job, illustrating ''The Fireside Book of Folk Songs''.[ They illustrated several ]Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books is a series of children's books, published since 1942.
''The Poky Little Puppy'', the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States.. Many other Little Golden Books have b ...
including '' The Color Kittens'' by Margaret Wise Brown (1949). In 1952, Tony the Tiger
Tony the Tiger is the advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (also known as Frosties) breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising. Tony has also been the mascot for related cereals such as Tony's Cinnamon K ...
, designed by Martin, debuted as a Kellogg's mascot.
The Provensens were a runner-up for the 1982 Caldecott Medal
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Servic ...
as illustrators of ''A Visit to William Blake's Inn
''A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers'' is a children's picture book written by Nancy Willard and illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen, published by Harcourt Brace in 1981. The next year Willard won th ...
'' by Nancy Willard
Nancy Willard (June 26, 1936 – February 19, 2017) was an American writer: novelist, poet, author and occasional illustrator of children's books. She won the 1982 Newbery Medal for ''A Visit to William Blake's Inn''.
Biography
Willard was born in ...
(who won the companion Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...
). Two years later they won the Caldecott for '' The Glorious Flight'', the story of aviator Louis Blériot, the first man to fly solo across the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, which they also wrote. The annual award by U.S. professional librarians recognizes the year's "most distinguished American picture book for children".[ Eight of their books were named to ''The New York Times'' annual Ten Best Illustrated Books, including ''Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm'' (1974) and ''An Owl and Three Pussycats'' (1981). The couple were collaborative illustrators for Donald Waxman's "Pagaents for Piano," a series of pedagogical primers.]
The couple lived for many years at Maple Hill Farm in Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later or ...
, which they portrayed in ''A Year at Maple Hill Farm'' (1978) as well as ''Our Animal Friends''.[ Martin died of a heart attack on March 27, 1987, in Staatsburg. Alice continued to live and work at Maple Hill Farm, publishing solo work such as ''The Buck Stops Here: the Presidents of the United States'' (1990) and ''My fellow Americans: a family album'' (1995), two presentations of people and events from American history (juvenile nonfiction).]''Punch in New York'', published in 1991, received several honors and is dedicated to her grandson, Sean.
After turning ninety, Alice moved to San Clemente, California, to live with her daughter, Karen Mitchell, and her family. Provensen continued working (an addition was added to her daughter's house for a studio) well into her nineties. She died only four months before her 100th birthday.
Books
* ''The Fuzzy Duckling'', by Jane Werner Watson (Little Golden Book 1949)
* ''Katie the Kitten'', by Kathryn & Byron Jackson
* ''The Little Fat Policeman'', by Margaret Wise Brown and Edith Thacher Hurd (Little Golden Book 1950)
* ''Tales from the Ballet'', selected by Louis Untermeyer
Louis Untermeyer (October 1, 1885 – December 18, 1977) was an American poet, anthologist, critic, and editor. He was appointed the fourteenth Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1961.
Life and career
Untermeyer was born in New Y ...
(Golden Press, 1968)
* ''The Mother Goose Book'' (Random House, 1976)
* ''The Provensen Animal Book'' (Golden Press, 1952), a.k.a. ''The Animal Fair''
* ''A Horse and a Hound, A Goat and A Gander'' ~Maple Hill Farm content
* ''Town & Country''
* ''My Little Hen'' (Random House, 1973) ~Maple Hill Farm content
* ''A Child's Garden of Verses'' (Simon and Schuster, 1951)
* ''Leonardo da Vinci'' (Paper engineering by John Strejan, The Viking Press,1984)
* ''The Golden Bible: The New Testament'' (Golden Press, 1953)
* ''The Golden Treasury of Myths and Legends'' by Anne Terry White (Golden Press, 1959)
* ''Aesop's Fables'' (Golden Press)
* ''The Iliad and the Odyssey'' by Jane Werner Watson (Golden Press, 1956)
* ''What Is a Color?''
* ''The Book of Seasons'' (Random House)
* ''Golden Book of Fun and Nonsense''
* ''The Provensen Book of Fairy Tales''
* ''The Color Kittens'', by Margaret Wise Brown (Little Golden Books, 1949)
* ''Alfred Lord Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade'' (Golden; Paul Hamlyn, 1964) — an edition of Tennyson's 1854 poem
* ''Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm'' (Random House, 1974) ~Maple Hill Farm content
* ''A Peaceable Kingdom: the Shaker abecedarius'' (Viking, 1978) — an edition of "Rhymes of Animals", ''Shaker Manifesto'', July 1882
* ''The Year at Maple Hill Farm'' (Atheneum, 1978) ~Maple Hill Farm content
* ''An Owl and Three Pussycats'' (Atheneum, 1981) ~Maple Hill Farm content
* ''A Visit to William Blake's Inn: poems for innocent and experienced travelers'', by Nancy Willard
Nancy Willard (June 26, 1936 – February 19, 2017) was an American writer: novelist, poet, author and occasional illustrator of children's books. She won the 1982 Newbery Medal for ''A Visit to William Blake's Inn''.
Biography
Willard was born in ...
(Harcourt Brace, 1981)
* ''The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot, July 25, 1909'' (Viking, 1983)
* ''The Voyage of the Ludgate Hill: travels with Robert Louis Stevenson'', by Nancy Willard (Harcourt Brace, 1987)
* ''Shaker Lane'' (Viking, 1987)
* ''Come, Lord Jesus (~1965)
* ''Funny Bunny'' by Rachel Learnard (Golden)
* ''Fireside Book of Folk Songs''
* ''Fireside Book of Love Songs''
* ''Fireside Cookbook''
* ''Roses Are Red, Are Violets Blue?'' (Random House)
* ''Instruments of the Orchestra'', by Jane Bunche
* ''Ten Great Plays'', by William Shakespeare (Hamlyn, 1963)
* ''Who's in the Egg?'' (Golden, 1970)
* ''A Play on Words'' (Random House, 1970)
* ''The Golden Serpent'' by Walter Dean Myers
Walter Dean Myers (born Walter Milton Myers; August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was an American writer of children's books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem. A tough childho ...
(Viking, 1980)
* ''Birds, beasts, and the third thing: poems'' by D.H. Lawrence (Viking, 1982) — an edition of Lawrence's 1925 collection
* ''Karen's Opposites'' (Golden, 1963)
* ''Karen's Curiosity'' (Golden, 1963)
* "The Old-Fashioned Cookbook" by Jan McBride Carlton (Weathervane Books, 1975)
;Publications by Alice Provensen since 1988
* ''The Buck Stops Here: the presidents of the United States'' (Harper & Row, 1990)
* ''Punch in New York'' (Viking, 1991) ‡
* ''My Fellow Americans: a family album'' (San Diego: Browndeer Press, 1995)
* ''Count on me'' (Harcourt Brace, 1998) — set of 10 board books ‡
* ''The Master Swordsman & The Magic Doorway: two legends from ancient China'', retold and illus. Alice Provensen (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2001) ‡
* ''A Day in the Life of Murphy'' (S&S BYR, 2003) ‡ ~Maple Hill Farm content
* ''Klondike Gold'' (S&S BYR, 2005) ‡
‡ unpaged picture books
References
External links
*
*
Martin Provensen
at LC Authorities, with 56 records
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Provensen, Alice And Martin
American children's book illustrators
American children's writers
American women illustrators
Art duos
Caldecott Medal winners
Married couples
People from Staatsburg, New York
Writing duos
20th-century American women artists