Kurt Wiese (April 22, 1887 – May 27, 1974) was a German-born book illustrator, who wrote and illustrated 20 children's books and illustrated another 300 for other authors.

Background

Kurt Wiese was born on April 22, 1887, in

Minden, Germany Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...

. He aspired to be an artist but was discouraged by his community. He had at least one sibling, Ella Wiese, later Ella Barnberg.

Career

Wiese was sent to Hamburg to "learn about the export trade to China." From 1909 to 1915, Wiese lived, worked, and traveled in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. selling merchandise as a young man. At the outbreak of World War I, he was captured by the Japanese, and turned over to the British. He spent five years as a prisoner, most of them in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where his fascination with the animal life inspired him to start sketching again. After his release at the end of the war, Wiese returned briefly to Germany and then moved to Brazil, where he began illustrating. In 1927, Wiese moved to the United States. His first critical success was with the illustrations for Felix Salten's ''Bambi'' in 1928. From his farm in Kingwood Township, New Jersey, he worked with German master printmaker Theodore Cuno of Germantown, Pennsylvania, to create some of his lithographs.

Personal life and death

In 1930, Wiese married Gertrude Hausen, a realtor, with whom he lived on a farm in Kingwood Township, New Jersey (or Frenchtown). Kurt Wiese died age 87 on May 27, 1974, in Idell, Kingwood Township near Flemington, New Jersey.

Awards

* Caldecott Honor Book Award in 1946 for ''You Can Write Chinese'' (author, illustrator) * Caldecott Honor Book Award in 1948 for ''Fish in the Air'' (author, illustrator) * Newbery Award winner ''Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze''(illustrator) * Newbery Honor books ''Honk the Moose'', ''Li Lun'', ''Lad of Courage'', and ''Daughter of the Mountains''(illustrator)

Selected works

;Freddy the Pig Freddy the Pig was featured in 26 books written by

Walter R. Brooks Walter Rollin Brooks (January 9, 1886 – August 17, 1958) was an American writer known for his children's books about Freddy the Pig and the other anthropomorphic animal inhabitants of the Bean Farm in upstate New York, and also for his short s ...

, illustrated by Wiese, and published by Alfred A. Knopf from 1927 to 1958. The first, titled ''To and Again'' – in reference to a constituent journey to and back again from Florida - was illustrated by Adolfo Best Maugard. The sequel, ''More To and Again'' - with a trip to the North Pole and back - was illustrated by Wiese. These first two books were later reprinted and retitled as Freddy Goes to Florida and Freddy Goes to the North Pole, with the former incorporating new illustrations by Wiese. They were followed by ''Freddy the Detective'' (1932), three more various titles, 19 novels with "Freddy" titles (1940–1958) and ''

The Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig ''The Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig'' (1953) is the brief 21st book in the humorous American children's series Freddy the Pig (1927 to 1958). The entire series, which otherwise comprises 25 novels, was written by Walter R. Brooks, illustrat ...

'' (1953). For some time all 25 novels have been issued with "Freddy" titles. ;Others Brazil * ''Jéca Tatuzinho'' by

Monteiro Lobato José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato (18 April 1882 – 4 July 1948) was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (Yellow Woodpecker Farm) but he had been previously ...

(1924) ;Others USA The following books have New York City publishers, except as noted: * '' Bambi, A Life in the Woods'', translated by Whittaker Chambers from the 1923 German by Felix Salten ( Simon & Schuster, 1929), * ''Poodle-oodle of Doodle Farm'', Lawton and Ruth Mackall, (Frederick A. Stokes, 1929), (Illustrations by Kurt Wiese) * '' The Hound of Florence'', translated by

Huntley Paterson Huntley may refer to: Places Australia *Huntley, New South Wales (Orange), in City of Orange *Huntley, New South Wales (Wollongong), a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales Canada *Huntley, Prince Edward Island *Huntley Township, Ontario Engla ...

from the 1923 German by Felix Salten (Simon & Schuster, 1930) * '' Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze'', Elizabeth Foreman Lewis (Philadelphia, Chicago: John C. Winston Co., 1932) * ''Silver Chief, Dog of the North'', Jack O'Brien (Winston, 1933) * '' The Story about Ping'', Marjorie Flack ( Viking Press, 1933) * ''Farm Boy: A Hunt for Indian Treasure'', Phil Stong ( Doubleday, Doran and Co., 1934) * ''Ho-Ming – Girl of New China'', Elizabeth Lewis (Winston, 1934) * ''Honk, the Moose'', Phil Stong (

Dodd, Mead and Co. Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. History Origins In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. Ta ...

, 1935) * ''Valiant, Dog Of The Timberline'', Jack O'Brien (

Grosset & Dunlap Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. Today, through the Penguin Gro ...

, 1935) * ''The Untold Story of Exploration'', Lowell Thomas (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1935) * ''All the Mowgli Stories'', Rudyard Kipling (Kipling Collection, Library of Congress; Doubleday, Doran, 1936) * ''Sheep'', Archer B. Gilfillan (Boston:

Little, Brown and Co. Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

, 1936) * ''Buddy the Bear'' oward-McCann, Inc.1936 * '' The Five Chinese Brothers'', Claire Huchet Bishop ( Coward-McCann, 1938) * ''Yen-Foh A Chinese Boy'', adapted from the Chinese by Ethel J. Eldridge (Chicago: Albert Whitman & Co., 1939) * ''Saranga The Pygmy'' by Attilio Gatti, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1939 (Illustrations by Kurt Wiese) * ''Pecos Bill and Lightning'', Leigh Peck (Boston:

Houghton Mifflin Co. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...

, 1940) * ''With Love and Irony'', Lin Yutang (

John Day Company The John Day Company was a New York publishing firm that specialized in illustrated fiction and current affairs books and pamphlets from 1926 to 1968. It was founded by Richard J. Walsh in 1926 and named after John Day, the Elizabethan printer. W ...

, 1940) * ''The Ferryman'', Claire Huchet Bishop (Coward-McCann, 1941) * ''The Adventures of Monkey'', adapted from the 1942 abridged translation by Arthur Waley from the Chinese of

Wu Ch'eng-En Wu Cheng'en (, c. 1500–1582Shi Changyu (1999). "Introduction." in trans. W.J.F. Jenner, ''Journey to the West'', volume 1. Seventh Edition. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. pp. 1–22. or 1505–1580), courtesy name Ruzhong (), was a Chine ...

(John Day, 1944) * ''You Can Write Chinese'', picture book created by Wiese (Viking, 1945) – a

Caldecott Honor Book 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 ...

* ''Censored, the Goat'', Phil Stong (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1945) * ''Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea'',

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

(Cleveland and New York: World Pub. Co., 1946) – an edition of the 1870 classic * ''

Li Lun, Lad of Courage ''Li Lun, Lad of Courage'' is a children's novel by Carolyn Treffinger. Set on an island off the coast of China, it tells the story of a boy who tries to survive and grow rice on a barren mountain after being banished from his village. The novel ...

'',

Carolyn Treffinger Carolyn E. Treffinger (October 24, 1891 – January 8, 1991) was an American children's author. Biography Treffinger was born on October 24, 1891, in Seville, Ohio. Her parents were Amanda and Noah, and she had three siblings, Raymond, Mable an ...

( Abingdon Press, 1947) * ''Daughter of the Mountains'', Louise Rankin (Viking, 1948) * ''Fish in the Air'', picture book created by Wiese (Viking, 1948) – a Caldecott Honor Book * ''The Fables of Aesop'', Joseph Jacobs

889 __NOTOC__ Year 889 ( DCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Guy III, duke of Spoleto, defeats the Lombard king Berengar I at the Tr ...

(

Macmillan US Macmillan Inc. is a defunct American book publishing company. Originally established as the American division of the British Macmillan Publishers, the two were later separated and acquired by other companies, with the remnants of the original Am ...

, 1950) – an edition of classic Aesop's Fables * ''Happy Easter'', picture book created by Wiese (Viking, 1952) * ''All about Volcanoes and Earthquakes'', Frederick H. Pough ( Random House, 1953) * ''Lions in the Barn'', Virginia Frances Voight ( Holiday House, 1955) * ''Pika and the Roses'', Elizabeth Coatsworth (

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint with editorial independence. It is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.Random House, Inc. Datamonitor Company Profiles Authority: Retrieved 6/20/2007, from EBSCO Host Business Source ...

, 1959) * ''Twenty-two Bears'', Claire Huchet Bishop (Viking, 1964) * ''The Truffle Pig'', Claire Huchet Bishop (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1971)

References

External links

Archives West - Kurt Wiese Papers, circa 1911-1974

University of Oregon - Guide to the Kurt Wiese papers (1911-1974)

University of Minnesota - Kurt Wiesa Papers (1931-1965)

AskArt.com

Bucks County Artists Database

Bookology
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiese, Kurt 1887 births 1974 deaths German illustrators German emigrants to the United States People from Kingwood Township, New Jersey People from Minden American illustrators Artists from New Jersey American children's writers Writers from New Jersey