Susanne Suba (1913–2012) was a Hungarian-born watercolorist and illustrator, active in the United States.

Early life

Suba was born ''Zsuzsanna Suba'' in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary, on December 13, 1913, to May Edwards Suba, a pianist of Brooklyn, New York and Miklos Suba, an architect and artist. She drew from an early age, sitting beside her father as he worked. Some time in the early 1920s her family emigrated and settled in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York; her father arrived in 1924, but her drawings show Suba herself was already there in 1922. She was educated at

Brooklyn Friends School Brooklyn Friends School is a school at 375 Pearl Street in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. Brooklyn Friends School (BFS) is an independent, college preparatory Quaker school serving a culturally diverse educational community of approximately 90 ...

and the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

Career

She worked as a freelance illustrator and commercial artist. As such, she painted covers and spot illustrations for

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

from the 1930s onwards. A collection of these were published as ''Spots by Suba'' in 1944. She illustrated books, including an edition

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...

’s ''

Life Without Principle "Life Without Principle" is an essay by Henry David Thoreau that offers his program for a righteous livelihood. It was published in 1863. Overview In his essay, Thoreau questions whether working is the most important part of one's life, argu ...

'' (her first book illustration), and over 25 children's books, some by her husband. She also wrote and illustrated books in her own name. She had exhibitions at the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

Art Directors Club of New York The Art Directors Club of New York is an organization for art directors in New York City. It was founded in 1920, and has grown as an industry group, promoting art directors' work through exhibitions and awards, including the annual DESI award for ...

and the Chicago equivalent, the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

New York,

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

and several others.

Personal life

Suba married Russell McCracken, a writer and editor. They lived in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She died on February 4, 2012, aged 98.

Legacy

Suba's papers for the years 1939–1993 are held by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...

. Additional papers, covering 1972–1976, are in the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

. The

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is a museum devoted to the art of the picture book and especially the children's book. It is a member of Museums10 and is adjacent to the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Carle was ...

has almost 600 of her works, which she bequeathed to the museum. Her pen and ink drawing ''Woman Reading ''(circa 1940–1964) is held by the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suba, Susanne 1913 births 2012 deaths Artists from Budapest Hungarian emigrants to the United States American illustrators 20th-century American painters American watercolorists Brooklyn Friends School alumni Pratt Institute alumni 20th-century Hungarian women artists Artists from Brooklyn Artists from Chicago