Jerry Pinkney 

A native of Philadelphia, Jerry studied at the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts) where, in 1992, he received the Alumni Award. Jerry has been illustrating children’s books since 1964, illustrating over 100 titles. He has been the recipient of five Caldecott Honor Medals, five Coretta Scott King Awards, and has received three Coretta Scott King Honor Awards. His books have been translated into eleven languages and published in fourteen different countries. In 2003, he received the Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. Additionally, Jerry was a United States nominee for the 1997 Hans Christian Andersen Illustration Medal. He was awarded four gold medals, four silver medals, the Hamilton King Award, four New York Times Best Illustrated Book awards, and, in 2006, the Original Art’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Illustrators in New York. 

 In addition to his work in children’s books, Jerry has had over thirty one-man retrospectives at venues ranging from the Art Institute of Chicago to the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. He has exhibited in over 100 group shows in the USA, Japan, Russia, Italy, Taiwan and Jamaica. Jerry has illustrated for a wide variety of clients, including the US Postal Service, National Park Service and National Geographic. He was invited to create a painting for the 30^th Bologna Book Fair in Italy and the NASA Art Collection at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. He was appointed to serve on the US Postal Service’s Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee (1982-1992). He has held professorships teaching art at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, the University of Delaware in Newark, and the University of Buffalo. In 2003, Jerry was appointed to the National Council of the Arts (NEA).

His works have been featured in the arts section of the New York Times, American Artists Magazine, the Horn Book Magazine, the “CBS Sunday Morning Show” and “Reading Rainbow” on PBS. Jerry is also a trustee for the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and the Katonah Museum of Art. He lives with his wife, author Gloria Jean, in Westchester County, New York.

From Jerry Pinkney: “It was a warm day in early September 2001 when the phone rang in my studio. I stopped work to answer; the call was from the White House. The caller was one of First Lady Laura Bush’s staff. She had been directed to contact me in regards to a project that she was interested in me creating for the art of the 2001 White House Christmas program. You can only imagine my surprise and amazement in receiving such a call. I responded with a wholehearted yes. A meeting was setup that following Thursday to meet with Mrs. Bush’s staff and White House design director. The date was September the 6^th, just five days before the 9/11 attack. This would be the first of many visits to the White House.  The project began in earnest the week after the horrific act of violence with what seemed like insurmountable challenges. However daunting, the project was completed and Gloria Jean, my wife, and I were invited to a reception at the White House for all the contributors who gave their time and talents to make the White House as festive, magical and inviting as possible. In so many ways, this gathering and celebration symbolized the resilience of this great country after such a national tragedy. The theme was to have the White House have the feel of a winter wonderland with fifty Christmas trees decorated in gold and silver ornaments with the trees appearing to be covered in fresh snow. I should actually say forty-nine trees, because in one of the rooms, one tree would be trimmed, yes in white, gold and silver, but also adding to the tree’s adornment were reduced scale book jackets from books I’ve illustrated.

“In 2003, I was appointed by President George Bush to serve on the National Council on the Arts—NEA. I would serve for six years. Over this time, council members would be invited to events held at the White House where the NEA played some role. How much fun it was for me to be able to recognize many of the Honor Guards and service staff. In 2002 and in 2005, the Pinkney publishing family was invited to participate in the National Book Festival.  There would be dinner at the Library of Congress the evening before the festival and breakfast the morning of the event at the White House.

“Each visit would be a special and unique experience and in many ways, each would feel like the first time with the same wonder, awe, and the same sense of standing in a place that is so important to our country’s history. Walking through the rooms smaller than you might imagine, yet enormous in its impact on one. Rooms that carry the fragrance of fresh-cut flowers arranged so magnificently in every room. What a joy it has been to play a part in this project that celebrates the White House and its history. How privileged I am to be able to contribute to a publication that has also been a bridge to revisiting the unforgettable moments that I have experienced at the White House.”

More books by Jerry Pinkney:

Little Red Riding Hood, adapted by Jerry Pinkney (Little Brown)
The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll, written by Patricia C. McKissack (Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House)
Ain’t Nobody a Stranger to Me, written by Ann Grifalconi (Hyperion)
The Moon Over Star, written by Dianna Hutts Aston (Dial Books)