R. Gregory Christie  

R. Gregory Christie received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in media arts from New York City’s School of Visual Arts in 1993. While attending SVA, he had a position at the Guggenheim Museum, and interned for the Newark Star Ledger newspaper, where his first published work was showcased in 1990.

Within a few years his work began to grace the covers of numerous jazz labels from all over the world, including Joe Sample’s Old Places Old Faces (Warner Brothers, 1996); George Benson’s A Song for my Brother (Giant Step Records); Coltrane: The Complete 1961Village Vanguard Recordings (GRP Impulse), as well as images for Stockholm, Sweden’s Independent jazz label Moserobie Music. Following his album covers, Christie’s illustrations began appearing in numerous publications in Europe, Asia, and America. In 1996, his work caught the eye of editors from Lee and Low publishing, who gave him the opportunity to paint illustrations for the book The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children, edited by Davida Adedjouma (Lee & Low). The book won a Coretta Scott King Honor Award from the American Library Association and received a Reading Magic Award from Parenting Magazine; truly significant achievements for a first-time book illustrator.

The artist has illustrated the biographies of many significant historical and cultural figures, including Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, and Sojourner Truth. He is a three-time recipient of the Coretta Scott King Honor Award, which he also received for Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan (Lee & Low) and Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, written by Anne Rockwell (Knopf). Additionally, the artist received a Certificate of Excellence from the New York Times, deeming his work for Only Passing Through, “One of the Year’s Best Illustrated Children’s Books.” Christie received the Certificate of Excellence from the New York Times a second time in 2002, for his illustrations for Stars in the Darkness (Chronicle) a children’s book promoting gang prevention.

Currently, Christie is a regular contributor to the New Yorker Magazine. He continues to paint album covers, travels internationally in order to produce live paintings at various events, and generates work for magazines and publishing companies in his Brooklyn studio.

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