Fisher, Leonard Everett 1924-
Fisher, Leonard Everett 1924-
Personal
Born June 24, 1924, in New York, NY; son of Benjamin M. and Ray M. Fisher; married Margery M. Me-
skin (a school librarian), 1952; children: Julie Anne, Susan Abby, James Albert. Education: Attended Art Students League, 1941, and Brooklyn College, 1941-42; Yale University, B.F.A., 1949, M.F.A., 1950.
Addresses
Home and office—7 Twin Bridge Acres Rd., Westport, CT 06880.
Career
Painter, illustrator, author, and educator. Whitney School of Art, New Haven, CT, dean, 1951-53; Paier College of Art, faculty member, 1966-78, academic dean, 1978-82, dean emeritus, 1982—, visiting professor, 1982-87. Visiting professor, artist, or consultant at universities and colleges, including Case Western Reserve University, Silvermine Guild School of the Arts, Hartford University School of Art, Fairfield University, and University of California; Arbuthnot Honor lecturer, 1995; lecturer and speaker. Designer of postage stamps for U.S. Postal Service, 1972-77; design consultant, Postal Agent, Staffa and Bernera Islands, Scotland, 1979-82. Member of arts councils and historical societies in Westport, CT, and greater New Haven, CT; Westport Public Library board of trustees, member, 1982-85, vice president, 1985-86, president, 1986-89. Exhibitions: Work exhibited in solo exhibitions at Hewitt Gallery, NY; New Britain Museum of American Art(retrospective), New Britain, CT; Everson Museum, University of Syracuse, NY; Kimberly Gallery, New York, NY; Museum of American Illustration, Society of Illustrators (retrospective), New York, NY; Homer Babbidge Library, University of Connecticut (retrospective); and special mini-exhibitions (including Smithsonian Institution, and Fairview Park Library, Fairview Park, OH), 1952—. Work included in group shows at Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Rockefeller Center, NY; Seligmann Galleries, NY; Eggleston Galleries, NY; Hewitt Gallery, NY; American Federation of Arts and Emily Lowe Foundation national tours; Whitney Museum; National Academy (Audubon Artists), NY; New York Historical Society, NY; Society of Illustrators, NY; Yale Art Gallery; and many others. Work included in collections, including Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Free Library of Philadelphia, PA; New Britain Museum of American Art; Museum of American Illustration; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; various universities; and other public and private collections. Military service: U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, 1942-46; became technical sergeant; participated in topographic mapping of major invasion campaigns in European and Pacific areas.
Member
PEN, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Authors Guild, Society of Illustrators, Silvermine Guild of Artists (trustee, 1970-74), New Haven Paint and Clay Club (president, 1968-70; trustee, 1968-74), Westport-Weston Arts Council (founding member; director, 1969-76; vice president, 1972-73; president, 1973-74; board chair, 1975-76).
Awards, Honors
American Institute of Graphic Arts awards for outstanding textbooks, 1958, outstanding children's books, 1963; Newbery Honor Award, 1960, for America Is Born, by Gerald W. Johnson; Spring Book Festival Older Honor Award, 1960, for America Grows Up, by Johnson; Newbery Honor Award, 1961, for America Moves Forward, by Johnson; Ten Best Illustrated Books inclusion, New York Times, 1964, for Casey at the Bat; Carle J. Blenner Prize for painting, New Haven Paint and Clay Club, 1968; premio grafico, Fiera di Bologna (Italy), 1968, for The Schoolmasters; Leonard Everett Fisher Day founded in Fairview Park, OH, November 12, 1978; New York Library Association/School Library Media Section Award, 1979, for contributions to children's literature; Medallion for Distinguished Contributions to Children's Literature, University of Southern Mississippi, 1979; Christopher Medal for illustration, 1981, for All Times, All Peoples; National Jewish Book Award for Children's Literature and Association of Jewish Libraries Award for Children's Literature, both 1981, both for A Russian Farewell; Parenting magazine Reading Magic Award, 1988, for Monticello; Children's Book Guild/Washington Post Nonfiction Award, 1989; Orbis Pictus Award nomination for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, National Council of Teachers of English, 1989, for The White House; Parents' Choice Award, 1989, for The Seven Days of Creation; Regina Medal, Catholic Library Association, 1991, for distinguished contributions to children's literature; Kerlan Award, University of Minnesota, 1991, for "singular attainments in the creation of children's literature"; New England Book Award for Children's Literature, New England Booksellers Association, 2002; numerous other awards or special citations from American Institute of Graphic Arts, New York Times, Booklist, American Library Association, National Council of Social Studies, and various state library and reading organizations, including for the "Colonial Americans" and "Nineteenth-Century America" book series.
Writings
SELF-ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Pumpers, Boilers, Hooks, and Ladders, Dial (New York, NY), 1961.
Pushers, Spads, Jennies, and Jets, Dial (New York, NY), 1961.
A Head Full of Hats, Dial (New York, NY), 1962.
Two If by Sea, Random House (New York, NY), 1970.
Picture Book of Revolutionary War Heroes, Stockpole, 1970.
The Death of Evening Star: The Diary of a Young New England Whaler, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1972.
The Art Experience, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1973.
The Warlock of Westfall, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1974.
Across the Sea from Galway, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1975.
Sweeney's Ghost, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1975.
Leonard Everett Fisher's Liberty Book, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1976.
Letters from Italy, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1977.
Noonan, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1978.
Alphabet Art: Thirteen ABC's from around the World, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1979.
A Russian Farewell, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1980.
Storm at the Jetty, Viking (New York, NY), 1980.
The Seven Days of Creation, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1981.
Number Art: Thirteen 1, 2, 3's from around the World, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1982.
Star Signs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1983.
Symbol Art: Thirteen Squares, Circles, and Triangles from around the World, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1984.
Boxes! Boxes!, Viking (New York, NY), 1984.
The Olympians: Great Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1984.
The Statue of Liberty, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1985.
The Great Wall of China, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1986.
Ellis Island: Gateway to the New World, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1986.
Calendar Art: Thirteen Days, Weeks, Months, and Years from around the World, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1987.
The Tower of London, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1987.
The Alamo, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1987.
Look Around: A Book about Shapes, Viking (New York, NY), 1987.
Monticello, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1988.
Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1988.
Theseus and the Minotaur, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1988.
The Wailing Wall, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1989.
The White House, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1989.
Prince Henry the Navigator, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1990.
Jason and the Golden Fleece, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1990.
The Oregon Trail, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1990.
The ABC Exhibit, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1991.
Sailboat Lost, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1991.
Cyclops, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1991.
Galileo, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1992.
Tracks across America: The Story of the American Railroad, 1825-1900, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1992.
Gutenberg, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1993.
David and Goliath, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1993.
Stars and Stripes: Our National Flag, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1993.
Marie Curie, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1994.
Kinderdike, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1994.
Gandhi, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1995.
Moses, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1995.
William Tell, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1996.
Niagara Falls: Nature's Wonder, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1996.
Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1997.
The Jetty Chronicles, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 1997.
Anasazi, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1997.
To Bigotry No Sanction: The Story of the Oldest Synagogue in America, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1998.
Alexander Graham Bell, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1999.
Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Maya, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1999.
Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Norse, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2001.
Sky, Sea, the Jetty, and Me, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 2001.
Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2003.
"COLONIAL AMERICANS" SERIES; SELF-ILLUSTRATED
The Glassmakers, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1964.
The Silversmiths, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1964.
The Papermakers, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1965, reprinted, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 2001.
The Printers, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1965.
The Wigmakers, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1965.
The Hatters, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1965, reprinted, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 2001.
The Canners, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1966, reprinted, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 2001.
The Weavers, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1966.
The Cabinet Makers, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1966.
The Tanners, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1966.
The Shoemakers, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1967.
The Schoolmasters, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1967.
The Peddlers, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1968.
The Doctors, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1968.
The Potters, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1969, reprinted, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 2001.
The Limners, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1969.
The Architects, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1970.
The Shipbuilders, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1971.
The Homemakers, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1973.
The Blacksmiths, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1976.
"NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA" SERIES; SELF-ILLUSTRATED
The Factories, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1979.
The Railroads, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1979.
The Hospitals, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1980.
The Sports, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1980.
The Newspapers, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1981.
The Unions, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1982.
The Schools, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1983.
ILLUSTRATOR
Geoffrey Household, The Exploits of Xenophon, Random House (New York, NY), 1955, revised edition, Shoestring Press, 1989.
Florence Walton Taylor, Carrier Boy, Abelard, 1956.
Manley Wade Wellman, To Unknown Lands, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1956.
Roger P. Buliard, My Eskimos: A Priest in the Arctic, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1956.
Richard B. Morris, The First Book of the American Revolution, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1956, revised edition published as The American Revolution, Lerner Publications, 1985.
L.D. Rich, The First Book of New England, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1957.
Kenneth S. Giniger, America, America, America, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1957.
Henry Steele Commager, The First Book of American History, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1957.
James C. Bowman, Mike Fink, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1957.
Robert Payne, The Splendor of Persia, Knopf (New York, NY), 1957.
Richard B. Morris, The First Book of the Constitution, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1958, revised edition published as The Constitution, Lerner Publications, 1985.
Jeanette Eaton, America's Own Mark Twain, Morrow (New York, NY), 1958.
Harry B. Ellis, The Arabs, World, 1958.
Robert Irving, Energy and Power, Knopf (New York, NY), 1958.
Estelle Friedman, Digging into Yesterday, Putnam (New York, NY), 1958.
E.B. Meyer, Dynamite and Peace, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1958.
E.M. Brown, Kateri Tekakwitha, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1958.
C. Edell, Here Come the Clowns, Putnam (New York, NY), 1958.
L.H. Kuhn, The World of Jo Davidson, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1958.
Catharine Wooley, David's Campaign Buttons, Morrow (New York, NY), 1959.
Maurice Dolbier, Paul Bunyan, Random House (New York, NY), 1959.
Edith L. Boyd, Boy Joe Goes to Sea, Rand McNally (Chicago, IL), 1959.
Gerald W. Johnson, America Is Born: A History for Peter, Morrow (New York, NY), 1959.
Richard B. Morris, The First Book of Indian Wars, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1959, revised edition published as The Indian Wars, Lerner Publications, 1985.
Elizabeth Abell, editor, Westward, Westward, Westward, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1959.
Phillip H. Ault, This Is the Desert, Dodd (New York, NY), 1959.
Robert Irving, Sound and Ultrasonics, Knopf (New York, NY), 1959.
Gerald W. Johnson, America Moves Forward: A History for Peter, Morrow (New York, NY), 1960.
Gerald W. Johnson, America Grows Up: A History for Peter, Morrow (New York, NY), 1960.
Robert Irving, Electromagnetic Waves, Knopf (New York, NY), 1960.
Declaration of Independence, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1960.
Trevor N. Dupuy, Military History of Civil War Naval Actions, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1960.
Trevor N. Dupuy, Military History of Civil War Land Battles, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1960.
Edward E. Hale, The Man without a Country, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1960.
Anico Surnay, Ride the Cold Wind, Putnam (New York, NY), 1960.
Natalia M. Belting, Indy and Mrs. Lincoln, Holt (New York, NY), 1960.
Natalia M. Belting, Verity Mullens and the Indian, Holt (New York, NY), 1960.
Richard B. Morris, The First Book of the War of 1812, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1961, revised edition published as The War of 1812, Lerner Publications, 1985.
Emma G. Sterne, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, Knopf (New York, NY), 1961.
James Playsted Wood, The Queen's Most Honorable Pirate, Harper (New York, NY), 1961.
Harold W. Felton, A Horse Named Justin Morgan, Dodd (New York, NY), 1962.
Charles M. Daugherty, Great Archaeologists, Crowell (New York, NY), 1962.
Margery M. Fisher, But Not Our Daddy, Dial (New York, NY), 1962.
Robert C. Suggs, Modern Discoveries in Archaeology, Crowell (New York, NY), 1962.
Paul Engle, Golden Child, Dutton (New York, NY), 1962.
Jean L. Latham, Man of the Monitor, Harper (New York, NY), 1962.
Gerald W. Johnson, The Supreme Court, Morrow (New York, NY), 1962.
Harold W. Felton, Sergeant O'Keefe and His Mule, Balaam, Dodd (New York, NY), 1962.
Gerald W. Johnson, The Presidency, Morrow (New York, NY), 1962.
Jack London, Before Adam, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1962.
Eric B. Smith and Robert Meredith, Pilgrim Courage, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1962.
Elbert Hubbard, A Message to Garcia, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1962.
Charles Ferguson, Getting to Know the U.S.A., Coward (New York, NY), 1963.
Anico Surany, Golden Frog, Putnam (New York, NY), 1963.
Gerald W. Johnson, The Congress, Morrow (New York, NY), 1963.
Margery M. Fisher, One and One, Dial (New York, NY), 1963.
Andre Maurois, The Weigher of Souls, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1963.
Jack London, Star Rover, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1963.
Helen Hoke, editor, Patriotism, Patriotism, Patriotism, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1963.
Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1963.
Gerald W. Johnson, Communism: An American's View, Morrow (New York, NY), 1964.
Eric B. Smith and Robert Meredith, Coming of the Pilgrims, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1964.
Richard Armour, Our Presidents, Norton (New York, NY), 1964.
Eric B. Smith and Robert Meredith, Riding with Coronado, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1964.
Robert C. Suggs, Alexander the Great, Scientist-King, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1964.
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1964.
Robert C. Suggs, Archaeology of San Francisco, Crowell (New York, NY), 1965.
Martin Gardner, Archimedes, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1965.
Florence Stevenson, The Story of Aïda (based on the opera by Giuseppe Verdi), Putnam (New York, NY), 1965.
Lois P. Jones, The First Book of the White House, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1965.
Ernest L. Thayer, Casey at the Bat, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1965.
John Foster, Rebel Sea Raider, Morrow (New York, NY), 1965.
Anico Surany, The Burning Mountain, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1965.
Martha Shapp and Charles Shapp, Let's Find Out about John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1965.
Robert C. Suggs, Archaeology of New York, Crowell (New York, NY), 1966.
Clifford L. Alderman, The Story of the Thirteen Colonies, Random House (New York, NY), 1966.
John Foster, Guadalcanal General, Morrow (New York, NY), 1966.
Robert Silverberg, Forgotten by Time, Crowell (New York, NY), 1966.
Gerald W. Johnson, The Cabinet, Morrow (New York, NY), 1966.
Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1966.
Anico Surany, Kati and Kormos, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1966.
Anico Surany, A Jungle Jumble, Putnam (New York, NY), 1966.
Eric B. Smith and Robert Meredith, Quest of Columbus, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1966.
Madeleine L'Engle, Journey with Jonah, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1967.
L. Sprague De Camp and Catherine C. De Camp, The Story of Science in America, Scribner (New York, NY), 1967.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Great Stone Face, and Two Other Stories, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1967.
Gerald W. Johnson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Morrow (New York, NY), 1967.
George B. Shaw, The Devil's Disciple, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1967.
Anico Surany, Covered Bridge, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1967.
Anico Surany, Monsieur Jolicoeur's Umbrella, Putnam (New York, NY), 1967.
Washington Irving, Rip Van Winkle, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1967.
Richard B. Morris, The First Book of the Founding of the Republic, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1968.
Anico Surany, Malachy's Gold, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1968.
Bret Harte, The Luck of Roaring Camp, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1968.
(With Cynthia Basil) John Foster, Napoleon's Marshall, Morrow (New York, NY), 1968.
Gerald W. Foster, The British Empire, Morris, 1969.
Eric B. Smith and Robert Meredith, Exploring the Great River, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1969.
Anico Surany, Lora Lorita, Putnam (New York, NY), 1969.
Julian May, Why the Earth Quakes, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1969.
Victor B. Scheffer, The Year of the Whale, Scribner (New York, NY), 1969.
Victor B. Scheffer, The Year of the Seal, Scribner (New York, NY), 1970.
Berenice R. Morris, American Popular Music, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1970.
Victor B. Scheffer, Little Calf, Scribner (New York, NY), 1970.
Loren Eisely, The Night Country, Scribner (New York, NY), 1971.
Julian May, The Land beneath the Sea, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1971.
Isaac Bashevis Singer, The Wicked City, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1972.
Jan Wahl, Juan Diego and the Lady, Putnam (New York, NY), 1973.
Gladys Conklin, The Journey of the Gray Whales, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1974.
James E. Gunn, Some Dreams Are Nightmares, Scribner (New York, NY), 1974.
E. Thompson, The White Falcon, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1976.
Milton Meltzer, All Times, All Peoples: A World History of Slavery, Harper (New York, NY), 1980.
Myra Cohn Livingston, A Circle of Seasons, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1982.
Richard Armour, Our Presidents, revised edition, Woodbridge Press, 1983.
Myra Cohn Livingston, Sky Songs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1984.
Myra Cohn Livingston, Celebrations, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1985.
Myra Cohn Livingston, Sea Songs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1986.
Myra Cohn Livingston, Earth Songs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1986.
Myra Cohn Livingston, Space Songs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1988.
Myra Cohn Livingston, Up in the Air, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1989.
Alice Schertle, Little Frog's Song, Harper (New York, NY), 1992.
Myra Cohn Livingston, If You Ever Meet a Whale, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1992.
Eric A. Kimmel, editor, The Spotted Pony: A Collection of Hanukkah Stories, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1992.
David and Goliath: Retold from the Bible, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1993.
Eric A. Kimmel, reteller, The Three Princes: A Tale from the Middle East, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1994.
Moses: Retold from the Bible, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1995.
Myra Cohn Livingston, Festivals, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1996.
Eric A. Kimmel, reteller, The Two Mountains: An Aztec Legend, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1999.
Eric A. Kimmel, reteller, Don Quixote and the Windmills, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2003.
Eric A. Kimmel, reteller, The Hero Beowulf, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2005.
Barbara Rogasky, reteller, Dybbuk: A Version (based on the play by Ansky), Holiday House (New York, NY), 2005.
Eric A. Kimmel, reteller, Blackbeard's Last Fight, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2006.
Eric A. Kimmel, reteller, Rip Van Winkle's Return, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2006.
Contributor of illustrations to periodicals, including Cricket and Lady Bug. Also illustrator of filmstrips for Encyclopedia Britannica, 1978-80.
ILLUSTRATOR; EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Our Reading Heritage, six volumes, Holt (New York, NY), 1956-58.
Marjorie Wescott Barrows, Good English through Practice, Holt (New York, NY), 1956.
Don Parker, editor, The Multilevel Reading Laboratory, eight volumes, Science Research Associates, 1957-62.
Marjorie Wescott Barrows and E.N. Woods, Reading Skills, Holt (New York, NY), 1958.
Dolores Betler, editor, The Literature Sampler, two volumes, Learning Materials, 1962, 1964.
How Things Change, Field Enterprise, 1964.
OTHER
Masterpieces of American Painting (for adults), Bison/Exeter, 1985.
Remington and Russell (for adults), W.H. Smith, 1986.
Author's manuscripts, illustrations, drawings, and correspondence are housed at the Leonard Everett Fisher Archive, University of Connecticut, Storrs; the Kerlan Collection, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; the de Grummond Collection, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg; the University of Oregon library, Eugene; and the Postal History Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Adaptations
Filmstrip adaptations of books by Anico Surany and featuring Fisher's art were produced by Random House, including The Golden Frog, The Burning Mountain, A Jungle Jumble, Monsieur Jolicouer's Umbrella, Ride the Cold Wind, and Lora Lorita.
Sidelights
Well known for his nonfiction focusing on American and world history, Leonard Everett Fisher is a prominent author and illustrator of books for children, particularly books of American and world history. In addition to the dozens of volumes he has both written and illustrated, Fisher has contributed artwork to over one hundred and sixty texts by authors as diverse as Washington Irving, Madeleine L'Engle, the poet Myra Cohn Livingston, and Eric A. Kimmel. Among Fisher's most notable works are his award-winning "Colonial Americans" and "Nineteenth-Century America" book series, anthologies such as Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, and his fictional The Jetty Chronicles.
Fisher's nonfiction works are targeted at readers in the elementary and middle grades and present cogent and informative introductions to topics from world mythology—as in The Olympians: Great Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece and Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Norse—to foundational moments in American history—as revealed in books such as The Statue of Liberty, Stars and Stripes: Our National Flag, and Tracks across America: The Story of the American Railroad, 1825-1900. His historical series for young readers, the "Colonial Americans" and "Nineteenth-Century America" books, introduce history buffs to the social landscape of a past age, providing "accurate reflections of the period," according to Reba Pinney, writing in the St. James Guide to Children's Writers. As Pinney further noted, these "often witty and amusing" series volumes display Fisher's "desire to connect the reader with the institutions of the past." Fisher has also written numerous biographies—among them Galileo, Gutenberg, Gandhi, Marie Curie, William Tell, and Alexander Graham Bell: short picture books that offer unique perspectives on the works and achievements of famous individuals. Natural history gets the Fisher treatment as well, in works such as Niagara Falls: Nature's Wonder, and ancient civilization are brought to life by Fisher in works such as Anasazi.
Several of Fisher's works of fiction are inspired by the author's interest in immigrant life, among them Across the Sea from Galway, Letters from Italy, and A Russian Farewell. He explores the weird and the fantastical in the novels The Warlock of Westfall, The Death of Evening Star, and Sweeney's Ghost, while his childhood home at Sea Gate in Brooklyn serves as the setting for tales such as The Jetty Chronicles. Fisher accompanies each of his texts with illustrations utilizing a variety of creative media, including pen and ink and acrylics. A renowned artist in his own right, he brings to his illustrations the training and insight of a fine-arts painter.
Fisher credits his father's love of art with his own decision to become an artist. The elder Fisher was a ship designer and draftsman who painted in his spare time. One of his paintings was still on the easel when two-year-old Leonard got hold of some India ink and a paintbrush, adding his own embellishments to his father's work and rendering it an unusable mess. Instead of being punished, however, Fisher was given his own little studio—a converted hall closet—complete with worktable, crayons, paper, and pencils. "I was cozily in business," the author/illustrator later recalled in Something about the Author Autobiography Series (SAAS), "ensconced in my first studio, lit from the ceiling by a naked bulb and about six steps from the kitchen."
While growing up in New York City, Fisher began to win local art competitions, including several prizes
[Image not available for copyright reasons]
sponsored by department stores. One of these was a float design for the Macy department store's Thanksgiving Day parade. One of his pencil drawings was included in an exhibit of high-school students' art at the Brooklyn Museum. In addition to his school work, Fisher took art classes at Moses Soyer's art studio, at the Art Students' League, and at the Heckscher Foundation while also taking advantage of the city's many art museums. Graduating from high school at age sixteen, he studied art and geology at Brooklyn College. Then, in 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he was trained as a mapmaker during World War II.
Returning to college after completing military service, Fisher earned two degrees from Yale University. "The Yale experience was memorable," he later explained in SAAS. "It prepared me for every artistic eventuality. It was up to me to discover those eventualities." Following graduation, he used the proceeds from two fellowships to tour Europe, visiting the major art museums of London, Paris, Milan, Florence, Venice, and Rome and viewing "every painting I came to see and more."
Once again back in the United States, Fisher was hired as dean of the Whitney School of Art; he also had his first New York exhibition, staged at the Edwin C. Hewitt Gallery in 1952. Although no paintings were sold, critical reviews were favorable. Fisher, emboldened by the response, quickly proposed marriage to girlfriend Margery Meskin, then a systems service representative with IBM. The couple was married later that year and went on to raise three children.
Leaving the Whitney School of Art in 1953, Fisher began to illustrate books for children. His first, Geoffrey Household's The Exploits of Xenophon, tells the story of an ancient Greek writer, historian, and military leader. Other projects soon followed, including the six-volume Our Reading Heritage and Multilevel Reading Laboratory, an experimental concept in which 150 reading selections were paired with illustrations. Fisher did the illustrations for eight of the selections, creating more than 3,000 images in all. In addition to educational materials, he also illustrated children's picture books for New York City publishers Holiday House and Franklin Watts. Both fiction and nonfiction, these works included texts focusing on American history, a subject close to Fisher's heart. As he explained in SAAS, "American history had a strong presence during my growing years. To my parents, one an immigrant, the other the son of immigrants, the United States was heaven-sent."
Fisher wrote and published his first self-illustrated children's book, Pumpers, Boilers, Hooks, and Ladders, in 1961. In his choice of subjects, he often selects historical topics. In his "Nineteenth-Century America" series, for example, he describes various aspects of U.S. society, such as the growth of the railroads and the nation's most popular leisure-time activities, thereby presenting a panoramic picture of the development of the nation during the 1800s. His nineteen-volume "Colonial Americans" series focuses on colonial crafts, trades, and professions of the pre-revolutionary era. Beginning with a brief history of the craft, trade, or profession in question, Fisher then describes the actual techniques used by colonial craftsmen, illustrating his text in a style reminiscent of the engravings of the period. As he wrote in SAAS, these series histories were inspired by Fisher's "determination not to disconnect. In a culture like ours," he explained, "wherein today's material gratification seems to deny any historical link, knowledge of the past is often and mistakenly brushed aside as irrelevant to our present and future values, much less the course of our nation. I try to say otherwise."
Reviewing The Factories and The Railroads, the first two titles in the "Nineteenth-Century America" series, Shirley Wilton remarked in School Library Journal that the collection is "characterized by excellent design, well-spaced, readable type, and Fisher's dramatic black-and-white scratchboard illustrations." Praising the author/illustrator's "lively writing, startling facts and striking illustrations," Wilton deemed the volumes "excellent supplements to standard historical coverage of industrial growth in America." Focusing on the human side of history, Fisher's books on nineteenth-century America follow the fortunes of the men and women who helped to build the country through newspapers, schools, hospitals, unions, and sports. Reviewing The Sports, a Publishers Weekly contributor noted that, by writing "briskly and authoritatively about competitive games and their social implications during American's early days," Fisher creates "an exemplary document on an energetic age."
Acting as a social and natural historian of the American experience, Fisher examines an ancient North American culture in Anasazi, which focuses on the people who once inhabited the Four Corners region of the Southwest. Stars and Stripes tells the story of the American flag, while the Touro Synagogue, built in 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island, is the focus of To Bigotry No Sanction: The Story of the Oldest Synagogue in America. Regarding the last-named book, Booklist contributor Cooper concluded that, "although some may see this as the story of a particular group, it is also the story of religious freedom in the U[nited] S[tates]." With Niagara Falls Fisher turns his artist's eye to the natural history and wonders of North America, assembling a blend of photographs old and new together with a potpourri of facts and myths about the place.
Fisher's interest in America's immigrant roots is reflected in the fictional Across the Sea from Galway, which tells the story of a group of Irish immigrants who flee famine and oppression in Ireland only to be shipwrecked off the Massachusetts coast. Cynthia Adams, writing in School Library Journal, praised the book as a "deft treatment of a survival theme as well as an accurate depiction of Irish life." Letters from Italy profiles several generations of a fictional Italian-American family, beginning with a grandfather who fought with Garibaldi for Italy's independence and ending with a grandson killed on a World War II battlefield while fighting fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. In the novel A Russian Farewell Fisher traces a Jewish-Ukrainian family from the trials family members face under the region's Czarist government to their decision to leave for America. A related work of nonfiction, Ellis Island: Gateway to a New World, profiles the island that had served as the entry point for thousands of immigrants to the United States by the turn of the twentieth century. Reviewing A Russian Farewell in School Library Journal, Jack Forman called the tale "broadly representative of the experiences of thousands of Russian Jews fleeing to the U.S.," the critic adding that Fisher's text "is given added force" from his "bleak and stark black-and-white sketches."
Expanding his focus to world history, Fisher employs "spare prose and bold black-and-white illustrations" to bring Italy's most famous astronomer to life in Galileo, according to Cooper. In another Booklist review, the critic noted that in Marie Curie Fisher "ably brings … to life" the French scientist "and highlights the role of women in the sciences in particular and society in general." Johann Gutenberg, Mahatma Gandhi, and William Tell have also been introduced to young scholars through Fisher's characteristic pairing of a spare text and black-and-white acrylic paintings. In Alexander Graham Bell he profiles the father of the telephone, his "warm, storylike text" and dark-toned illustrations giving readers "a good introduction to the subject," according to a Horn Book reviewer. Carol Fazioli, reviewing Bell's biography for School Library Journal, noted that, like Fisher's biographies of Galileo and Gutenberg, the volume "provides an overview of an individual's life without intimidating young readers."
The myths and legends of ancient cultures around the world have also served as catalysts for Fisher. Twelve deities of ancient Greece are served up in The Olympians, described as "a handsomely designed volume ideally suited for introducing the characters of Greek mythology" by Booklist critic Karen Stang Hanley. A pantheon of thirteen gods and goddesses are featured in Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, while in Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Maya Fisher focuses on the principal figures of Mayan mythology. Further volumes in the series include Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China and Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Norse. Fisher also retells and illustrates myths in Theseus and the Minotaur, Jason and the Golden Fleece, and Cyclops, while the Bible has inspired his books David and Goliath and Moses. Reviewing David and Goliath for School Library Journal, Linda Boyles called
the book "a vigorous retelling of an ancient story in an exciting picture book."
Collaborative efforts have also allowed Fisher to explore the world's wealth of myths and legends. Working with Eric A. Kimmel, he has created art for The Spotted Pony: A Collection of Hanukkah Stories, The Three Princes: A Tale from the Middle East, and The Two Mountains: An Aztec Legend, among others. Reviewing the last-named book, a Publishers Weekly writer noted that "Fisher's acrylic paintings range from austere, boldly hued portraits of the warrior-like celestial residents to verdant landscapes of both heaven and earth." Another collaborative effort, this time with Barbara Rogasky, has yielded Dybbuk: A Version, an illustrated adaptation of Lithuanian-born dramatist Ansky's 1920 stage play about a spirit that appears in Jewish folklore. Reviewing the work for Horn Book, Susan P. Bloom wrote that, in his illustrations, "Fisher matches Rogasky's theatrical spirit with bold sepia paintings … that emphasize the lights and shadows of this haunted tale." Several successful melds of text and art have occurred through Fisher's work with poet Myra Cohn Livingston. Peter Neumeyer, reviewing their first collaborative effort, A Circle of Seasons, for School Library Journal, cited the book as a "perfect blending of poetry and painting." Other joint works between Fisher and Livingston include Sky Songs, Celebrations, Sea Songs, Earth Songs, Space Songs, Festivals, and Up in the Air. In addition to illustration work, Fisher has established himself as a respected fine artist and has exhibited his work throughout the United States.
Inspired by personal experiences, The Death of Evening Star, Noonan, Storm at the Jetty, The Jetty Chronicles, and Sky, Sea, the Jetty, and Me are based on the author's recollections of growing up in his family's home at Sea Gate, in Brooklyn. Situated on a spit of land where the waters of the Atlantic meet those of Gravesend Bay, the Fisher home had a magnificent view of passing ships, storms at sea, and local lighthouses. Storm at the Jetty and Sky, Sea, the Jetty, and Me both describe how the shore is transformed by a violent thunderstorm at sea, while The Death of Evening Star concerns a nineteenth-century whaling ship leaving New England for the tribulations that will befall it during its final voyage. The Jetty Chronicles is based on Fisher's reminiscences of his life from 1934 to 1939, and is peopled by fictional characters including a geologist, an ex-convict, an Olympic hopeful, and a radical newspaper vendor.
Reviewing Storm at the Jetty for School Library Journal, Barbara Hawkins called the work a "beautifully illustrated vignette of a summer storm" and an "ode to the sea." In the same periodical, The Jetty Chronicles was described by Marilyn Payne Phillips as "an antidote to Norman Rockwell" through its depiction of "a real place and time that no longer exists," as well as "a place of power and majesty reclaimed by nature." Citing Fisher's "poetic, evocative language," Martha Topol
rounded out these School Library Journal assessments by writing of Sky, Sea, the Jetty, and Me that Fisher's use of "smooth expanses of color … create[s] minimalist backgrounds" against which he sets his childhood vignette.
Discussing his career, Fisher once observed in Horn Book that his desire has been to present young readers with a "stronger and more artistically expansive view of nonfiction." "What is important about me is the quality of my thinking, what drives me to do what I am doing," he explained; "not the facts of my life—but the creative impulse behind that life. I am trying to make an artistic statement logically, and a logical statement to children artistically."
Biographical and Critical Sources
BOOKS
Children's Books and Their Creators, edited by Anita Silvey, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1995, pp. 242-243.
Children's Literature Review, Volume 18, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1989.
Daugherty, Charles M., Six Artists Paint a Still Life, North Light, 1977, pp. 10-29.
Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 61: American Writers for Children since 1960: Poets, Illustrators, and Nonfiction Authors, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1987, pp. 57-67.
Fisher, Leonard Everett, A Life of Art, University of Connecticut Dodd Research Center (Storrs, CT), 1998.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett, More Books by More People, Citation, 1971, pp. 159-164, 316.
Munce, Howard, editor, Magic and Other Realism, Hastings House, 1979, pp. 56-59.
Something about the Author Autobiography Series, Volume 1, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1986, pp. 89-113.
St. James Guide to Children's Writers, 5th edition, edited by Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999, pp. 376-380.
PERIODICALS
American Artist, September, 1966, pp. 42-47, 67-70.
Booklist, October 1, 1984, Karen Stang Hanley, review of The Olympians: Great Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece, p. 246; March 15, 1986, Ilene Cooper, review of The Great Wall of China, p. 1082; September 1, 1996, p. 71; October 15, 1997, p. 397; November 1, 1997, p. 464; December 1, 1997, p. 618; December 1, 1998, Ilene Cooper, review of Galileo and Marie Curie, p. 680; February 1, 1999, Ilene Cooper, review of To Bigotry No Sanction: The Story of the Oldest Synagogue in America, p. 971; March 15, 1999, p. 1326; October 1, 1999, p. 373; February 1, 2000, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Maya, p. 1019; March 15, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, reviews of The Potters and The Hatters, p. 1397, and John Peters, review of Sky, Sea, the Jetty, and Me, p. 1403; March 1, 2002, Gillian Engberg, review of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Norse, p. 1137; July, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China, p. 1881; April 15, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of Don Quixote and the Windmills, p. 1446; April 15, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of The Hero Beowulf, p. 1452; October 15, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of Dybbuk: A Version, p. 46; March 1, 2006, Hazel Rochman, review of Blackbeard's Last Fight, p. 100.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, December, 1986, Zena Sutherland, review of Ellis Island: Gateway to the New World, pp. 65-66; June, 1988, Betsy Hearne, review of Monticello, pp. 203-204; July, 1996, p. 370; April, 1999, p. 279; June, 2002, review of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Norse, p. 212; November, 2003, Janice Del Negro, review of The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China, p. 102; July-August, 2004, Karen Coats, review of Don Quixote and the Windmills, p. 472; July-August, 2005, review of The Hero Beowulf, p. 494; March, 2006, review of Dybbuk, p. 324; June, 2006, Elizabeth Bush, review of Blackbeard's Last Fight, p. 459.
Horn Book, May-June, 1988, Leonard Everett Fisher, "The Artist at Work: Creating Nonfiction," pp. 315-323; July-August, 1999, review of Alexander Graham Bell, p. 481; January-February, 2005, Susan P. Bloom, review of Dybbuk, p. 93.
Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 1988, review of Monticello, p. 760; March 15, 1996, p. 455; September 15, 1997, p. 1456; January 1, 1999, p. 65; January 15, 2002, review of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Norse, p. 104; July 15, 2003, review of The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China, p. 963; March 15, 2004, review of Don Quixote and the Windmills, p. 272; May 1, 2005, review of The Hero Beowulf, p. 540; October 15, 2005, review of Dybbuk, p. 1146; March 1, 2006, review of Blackbeard's Last Fight, p. 232.
Language Arts, March, 1982, pp. 224-230.
Publishers Weekly, December 19, 1980, review of The Sports, p. 51; February 26, 1982, pp. 62-63; September 25, 1987, review of The Tower of London, p. 109; January 18, 1999, p. 340; November 29, 1999, p. 71; February 7, 2000, review of The Two Mountains, p. 84; August 29, 2005, review of Dybbuk, p. 61.
School Library Journal, January, 1976, Cynthia Adams, review of Across the Sea from Galway, pp. 52-53; November, 1979, Shirley Wilton, reviews of The Factories and The Railroads, p. 76; January, 1981, Jack Forman, review of A Russian Farewell, p. 60; October, 1981, Barbara Hawkins, review of Storm at the Jetty, p. 128; August, 1982, Peter Neumeyer, review of A Circle of Seasons, p. 118; December, 1985, Deborah Vose, review of The Statue of Liberty, pp. 86-87; June, 1993, Linda Boyles, review of David and Goliath, pp. 95-96; October, 1993, Sylvia S. Marantz, review of Stars and Stripes, pp. 117-118; July, 1996, p. 79; October, 1996, p. 132; December, 1996, Kathleen Odean, review of Marie Curie, p. 45; November, 1997, p. 106; December, 1997, Marilyn Payne Phillips, review of The Jetty Chronicles, p. 123; December, 1997, Darcy Schild, review of Anasazi, p. 108; March, 1999, Carol Fazioli, review of Alexander Graham Bell, p. 192; December, 1999, p. 149; April, 2000, Daryl Grabarek, review of The Two Mountains, p. 121; April, 2001, Martha Topol, review of Sky, Sea, the Jetty, and Me, p. 108; March, 2002, Denise Anton Wright, review of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Norse, p. 1137; October, 2003, Barbara Scotto, review of The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China, p. 149; April, 2004, Ann Welton, review of Don Quixote and the Windmills, p. 116; December, 2005, Miriam Budin, review of Dybbuk, p. 172; May, 2006, Kara Schaff Dean, review of Blackbeard's Last Fight, p. 91.
Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 1998, p. 384.