Illustrator Jerry Pinkney and his wife, the author Gloria Jean Pinkney, collaborated on the 1992 book “Back Home.”
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 8-30-07
GREENSBORO, NC – Award-winning artist and illustrator Jerry Pinkney and his wife, the author Gloria Jean Pinkney, will spend the day at UNCG on Monday, Sept. 10.
Their presentation, “A Sense of Place: Real and Imagined,” at 7 p.m. in Elliott University Center Auditorium is free and open to the public. Afterwards the Pinkneys will sign copies of their books, many of which will be available from the UNCG Bookstore.
Jerry Pinkney began illustrating children’s books in 1964 and has been awarded five Caldecott Honor Medals, five Coretta Scott King Awards, four New York Times Best Illustrated Awards, four gold medals and four silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, and a Boston Globe Honor Book Award.
Born in Philadelphia in 1939, he took an interest in drawing from an early age. His family, especially his mother, encouraged his artistic endeavors, which earned him a scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum College of Art (now University of the Arts). While a student there he met and married Gloria Jean, a native of Lumberton, N.C.
He honed his art drawing greeting cards, advertisements and textbook illustrations, first in Boston and later New York. Even when busy with other work, he tried to illustrate at least one or two picture-books each year.
As interest in African-American writers surged in the late ’60s, publishers increasingly sought out African-American illustrators. In addition to books, Jerry Pinkney illustrated African-American historical calendars and designed a dozen stamps, including ones depicting Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackie Robinson, for the U.S. Postal Service’s Black Heritage series.
“I was trying to use these projects as vehicles to address the issues of being an African-American and the importance of African-American contributions to society,” he wrote in an autobiographical essay.
“I wanted to show that an African-American artist could certainly make it in this country on a national level in the visual graphic arts. And I wanted to show my children the possibilities that lay ahead for them. That was very important. I wanted to be a strong role model for my family and for other African-Americans.”
Gloria Jean Pinkney has helped her husband by hiring his models, assembling costumes, photographing sets and conducting research. The 1992 book “Back Home,” written by Gloria Jean and illustrated by Jerry, marked a new collaboration for the couple. They also worked together on “The Sunday Outing,” a prequel to “Back Home.”
On the morning of Sept. 10, nearly 900 elementary-age children from local public schools will make a field trip to UNCG to hear the Pinkneys. The couple will speak to UNCG students in the School of Education in an afternoon session.
The Pinkneys have four adult children and live in Westchester County, New York.
Their visit to UNCG will follow their appearance at Bookmarks: Winston-Salem’s Festival of Books, on Saturday, Sept. 8, at Bethabara Park in Winston Salem. Their appearance at Bookmarks is sponsored by the UNCG School of Education.
