Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addressed diverse themes and were usually done in watercolors.

In 1994, Pinkney obtained the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for the book John Henry and he has received five Coretta Scott King Awards for illustration. In 2010, he received the Caldecott Medal for his book The Lion & the Mouse."Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).   "The Randolph Caldecott Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved July 22, 2013. His book A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation (2019), illustrated by Pinkney and written by Barry Wittenstein, won the Orbis Pictus Award for 2020.

In 2000, Pinkney received the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award from Kent State University, and, in 2004, he was awarded the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for outstanding contributions in the field of children's literature. In 2016, Pinkney received the Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.2016 Newbery, Caldecott awards honor best children's books, Katia Hetter, CNN, January 11, 2016

Pinkney has partnered with the United States Postal Service, National Park Service, and National Geographic for his illustration work. His art has also been featured in numerous exhibitions.

Biography

Early life Pinkney was born in Philadelphia on December 22, 1939, to Williemae and James Pinkney. Pinkney was the middle child in a family of five siblings. Pinkney struggled in school due to dyslexia, but excelled at drawing, even at the young age of 4. During Pinkney's youth, his mother encouraged him to develop his skills by enrolling him in art classes, but Pinkney's father did not consider art a sustainable career until Pinkney grew older.

Career

During his early teens, Pinkney worked at a local newspaper stand, where he would pass the time by drawing city life. Pinkney's talent caught the eye of customer and cartoonist John Liney, who worked on the Henry comic strips. Liney showed Pinkney how artistry could be used for commercial purposes.

Pinkney attended the Murrell Dobbins Vocational High School for his secondary education and met his future wife, Gloria Jean Pinkney, during this time. Pinkney graduated from Murrell Dobbins in 1957 and was granted a full scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum College of Art (now University of the Arts). Pinkney only attended the Philadelphia College of Art for a few years, leaving to start a family with wife Gloria.

In 1960, Pinkney began working for The Rust Craft Greeting Card Company in Dedham, Massachusetts. Pinkney later worked at Barker-Black Studio, where he illustrated his first picture book in collaboration with Joyce Cooper Arkhurst called, The Adventures of Spider: West African Folk Tales (1964). He, along with two other artists, opened Kaleidoscope Studio a few years later. Pinkney opened his own freelance studio, Jerry Pinkney Studios, in 1968.

During the 1970s, Pinkney worked on the Black Heritage Stamp Series for the United States Postal Service.(1) (2) During the 1980s Pinkney began to receive additional recognition for his work, including a Coretta Scott King Award for his collaboration with author Patricia McKissack on Mirandy and Brother Wind (1989). Pinkney also collaborated with the National Geographic Magazine and the National Park Service on the topic of the Underground Railroad.Underground Railroad, Official National Park Handbook, No. 156, Division of Publications, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1998.

Pinkney also worked as an educator, teaching at colleges and universities like the University of Delaware, the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and the University at Buffalo, in Buffalo, New York.

Pinkney's work was included in the 2015 exhibition We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s at the Woodmere Art Museum.

Professional memberships

Pinkley became a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in 1990. He was appointed to the National Council of the Arts by President George W. Bush in 2003. In 2012, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Personal life Jerry Pinkney and Gloria Jean Pinkney have four children: Troy, Brian, Scott, and Myles. Brian Pinkney and his wife Andrea Davis Pinkney also write books for children. The other Pinkney children, including Jerry and Gloria Pinkney's six grandchildren, all participate in the arts, which Gloria calls a continuation of “the Pinkney tradition.”

Pinkney lived in Croton-on-Hudson in New York with his wife Gloria, where he worked out of his freelance studio, Jerry Pinkney Studio, since 1971.

Pinkney died of a heart attack on October 20, 2021, in Sleepy Hollow, New York, at the age of 81.

Art style and themes Art style Pinkney got his start drawing in pencil and his early works were black and white productions. Pinkney used a combination of watercolors and pencils for the majority of his work, along with other materials, such as, "pastel[s], color pencils, and Cray-Pas". In an interview, he stated watercolors are his "medium of choice." Pinkney's "intricate detail" is considered "rare" for a person who uses watercolors.

Themes Pinkney researched the subjects of his works for accuracy, such as the dress of the characters involved and the time periods. Pinkney also used live models for establishing character poses. Pinkney has stated he liked to draw animals the most and to give these characters human features.

Many of Pinkney's titles are on diverse themes and topics, such as African American history, and Pinkney has stated his stories are a way for him to "revisit" his childhood. His recent book, A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr and the Speech That Inspired a Nation (2019), portrays Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 March on Washington "I Have A Dream" speech.

A number of Pinkney's works retell Aesop Fables, such as The Grasshopper & The Ants (2015) and The Lion and the Mouse (2009).

Literary works

Children's books

1965–1969 Arkhurst, Joyce Cooper. The Adventures of Spider: West African Folk Tales. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Scholastic, 1964. Fletcher, Helen Jill. The Year Around Book. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965. McCall, Adeline. This is Music for Kindergarten and Nursery School. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1965. Garshin, V. M. The Traveling Frog. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Translated by Marguerita Rudolph. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966. Sobol, Ken. A Book of Sizes & Shapes. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966. Saleh, Harold J. Even Tiny Ants Must Sleep. Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Sobol, Ken. The Clock Museum. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Spellman, John W. The Beautiful Blue Jay, and Other Tales of India. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Boston: Little, Brown, 1967. Dale, Ralph Alan. Shoes, Pennies and Rockets: A Book of Singing Games. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: L. W. Singer, 1968. Green, Lila. Folktales and Fairytales of Africa. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Morristown: Silver Burdett, 1968. Traudl. Kostas the Rooster. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1968. Phillips, Irv. The Twin Witches of Fingle Fu. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: L. W. Singer, 1969. Powell, Fern. The Porcupine and the Tiger. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Sheppard Co., 1969. Shaw, Thelma. Juano and the Wonderful Fresh Fish. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Reading: Addison-Wesley, 1969. Trofimuk, Ann. Babushka and the Pig . Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1969. 1970–1979 Annett, Cora. Cora Annett's Homerhenry. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Reading: Addison-Wesley, 1970. Jacobs, Francine. The King's Ditch: A Hawaiian Tale. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Coward, McCann, & Geoghegan, 1971. Arkhurst, Joyce Cooper. More Adventures of Spider: West African Folk Tales. New York: Scholastic Book Services, 1972. Robinson, Adjai. Femi and Old Grandaddie. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1972. Evans, Mari. JD. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Garden City: Doubleday, 1973. Freschet, Berniece. Prince Littlefoot. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Lexington: Ginn, 1973. Robinson, Adjai. Kasho and the Twin Flutes. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1973. Mickey and Minny. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. N.p.: Houghton Mifflin, 1973. Jefferson, Margo and Elliott P. Skinner. Roots of Time: A Portrait of African Life and Culture. Garden City: Doubleday, 1974. Wilson, Beth P. The Great Minu. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Chicago: Follett, 1974. Martel, Cruz. Yagua Days. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Press, 1975. Taylor, Mildred. Song of the Trees. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Press, 1996. Greenfield, Eloise. Mary McLeod Bethune. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Crowell, 1977. Aaderma, Verna. Ji-nongo-nongo Means Riddles. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Four Winds Press, 1978. Green, Lila. Tales From Africa. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Morristown: Silver Burdett Co., 1979. Greenfield, Eloise, Lessie Jones Little, and Pattie Ridley Jones. Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir. Drawings by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Crowell, 1979. Yellow Robe, Rosebud. Tonweya and the Eagles and Other Lakota Indian Tales. Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Press, 1979. 1980–1989 Hamilton, Virginia. Jahdu. Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1980. Zaslavsky, Claudia. Count on Your Fingers African Style. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Crowell, 1980. Wise, William. Monster Myths of Ancient Greece. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Putnam, 1981. Michels, Barbara and Bettye White, eds. Apples on a Stick: The Folklore of Black Children. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Coward-McCann, 1983. Flournoy, Valerie. The Patchwork Quilt. Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial, 1985. Dragonwagon, Crescent. Half a Moon and One Whole Star. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York:Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986. Buxton, Jane Heath, John Strejan, and James Diaz. Strange Animals of the Sea. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1987. Carlstrom, Nancy White. Wild Wild Sunflower Child Anna. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1987. Lester, Julius. The Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Books, 1987. Lester, Julius. More Tales of Uncle Remus: Further Adventures of Brer Rabbit, His Friends, Enemies and Others. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Books, 1987. Fields, Julia. The Green Lion of Zion Street. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: McElderry Books, 1988. McKissack, Patricia C. Mirandy and Brother Wind. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Knopf, 1988. Aardema, Verna. Rabbit Makes a Monkey of Lion: A Swahili Tale. Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1989. San Souci, Robert D. The Talking Eggs: A Folktale From the American South. Pictures by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1989. Singer, Marilyn. Turtle in July. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1989. 1990–1999 Dragonwagon, Crescent. Home Place. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990.