Kurt Wiese

Kurt Wiese
Born(1887-04-22)April 22, 1887
Minden, Germany
DiedMay 27, 1974(1974-05-27) (aged 87)
Idell, Kingwood Township near Flemington, New Jersey
Known forIllustrator of children's books
Notable workBambi: A Life in the Woods (1928), Freddy the Pig series (1927-1958), The Story about Ping (1933), The Five Chinese Brothers (1938)

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.[1][2][3][4]

Background

Kurt Wiese was born on April 22, 1887, in Minden, Germany.[3] He aspired to be an artist but was discouraged by his community.[3] He had at least one sibling, Ella Wiese, later Ella Barnberg.[1][4]

Career

Cover illustrated by Kurt Wiese for Jéca Tatuzinho by Monteiro Lobato (1924)

Wiese was sent to Hamburg to "learn about the export trade to China."[4] From 1909 to 1915, Wiese lived, worked, and traveled in China.[2] selling merchandise as a young man.[5] 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, where his fascination with the animal life inspired him to start sketching again.[2] After his release at the end of the war, Wiese returned briefly to Germany and then moved to Brazil, where he began illustrating.[2][3][4]

In 1927, Wiese moved to the United States.[2][4] His first critical success was with the illustrations for Felix Salten's Bambi in 1928.[2][3] From his farm in Kingwood Township, New Jersey,[3] he worked with German master printmaker Theodore Cuno of Germantown, Pennsylvania, to create some of his lithographs.[citation needed]

Personal life and death

In 1930, Wiese married Gertrude Hausen,[1] a realtor,[4] with whom he lived on a farm in Kingwood Township, New Jersey (or Frenchtown).[3][4]

Kurt Wiese died age 87 on May 27, 1974, in Idell, Kingwood Township near Flemington, New Jersey.[1][2]

Awards

Selected works

Freddy the Pig
Main article: Freddy the Pig

Freddy the Pig was featured in 26 books written by Walter R. Brooks, 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 (1953). For some time all 25 novels have been issued with "Freddy" titles.[6]

Others Brazil
Others USA

The following books have New York City publishers, except as noted:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Kurt Wiese, 87, Illustrator Of Children's Books, Dies". New York Times. 29 May 1974. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Kurt Wiese papers, circa 1911-1974". Archives West. 29 May 1974. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Birthday Bios: Kurt Wiese," Children's Literature Network". Archived from the original on 2010-05-22. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Kurt Wiese Papers". University of Southern Mississippi. July 2001. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  5. ^ Flack, Marjorie (1933). "Kurt Wiese (illustrations)". The Story About Ping. Viking. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  6. ^ Wiese, Kurt; Brooks, Walter R.; Cart, Michael (2002). The Art of Freddy. Woodstock, NY: Overlook. ISBN 1585673153.
  7. ^ "Book Review: Hoppity". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  8. ^ Evidently Wiese created a second and third set of global Pictured Geography books with writers Bernadine Bailey and Lois Donaldson and also a set of U.S. state picture books with Bailey, Picture book of Alabama and so on "Search results for 'Pictured Geography Kurt Wiese' ". WorldCat. Retrieved 2015-01-28.