fredag 28 juli 2017

A night to remember

As mentioned already, on June 22nd Gustaf Tenggren was inducted as a member of Society of Illustrator's Hall of Fame at a Ceremony held in the premises of the club on128 East 63rd Street in New York. 
Society of Illustrator's prize reception dinner on June 22nd, 2017.
The walls are covered with art from Stephen Korshak's collection of illustration art,
including two works by Gustaf Tenggren.
(All photos in this blog post except for the Tenggren paintings by Jason Goodfriend,
courtesy of the Society of Illustrators.)
For once, the event reception was held in the exhibition area, which turned out to provide a spectacular environment for the venue, hosting parts of Stephen Korshak's amazing collection of illustration art as it was. Very appropriately, two works by Gustaf Tenggren were included in the show, both of which from his early artist years. 

Gustaf Tenggren: Trolls walking downhill, 1915. 
Gustaf Tenggren: Witch. From Bland Tomtar och Troll, 1922.
Receiving the award on behalf of Gustaf Tenggren was Barbara Wells Fitzgerald, daughter of Gustaf's younger brother, Gunnar. Her son Christopher and Nhu Tran accompanied her at the reception dinner. 
Gustaf Tenggren's niece Barbra Wells Fitzgerald,
her son Cristopher Wells and Nhu Tran on the Hall of Fame red carpet. 
Barbra Wells Fitzgerald sharing her memories of
her uncle Gustaf Tenggren to the reception audience.
Barbra Wells Fitzgerald and Cristopher Wells holding the award.
Gustaf Tenggren sure was in good company: the other illustrators awarded in 2017 were:
  • Mort Drucker
  • Bart Forbes
  • Burne Hogarth
  • Anita Kunz
  • George Petty
  • Ralph Steadman
From the impressive list of awardees, three were present at the reception. Ralph Steadman, who had provided the event logo, could unfortunately not make it but was participating through a video.

Ralph Steadman, participating through a video link, holding the symbols of the event. 
Anita Kunz
Bart Forbes
Anita Kunz and Bart Forbes both held acceptance speeches to the audience from the stand, while the reception's grand old man, Mort Drucker, preferred to thank for the award more briefly. After all, this gentleman, born in 1929, is in his right to go easy after a 60-year career as a cartoonist.
Legendary MAD illustrator and Hall of Fame awardee Mort Drucker
enjoying the company at the Society of Illustrator's prize ceremony.
All in all, this induction ceremony consolidated Gustaf Tenggren's repute as one of the important early New York illustrators during the years when the Society of Illustrator were still in its bud. I'm so happy that his niece Barbara was able to attend the venue, accepting the prize on her uncle Gustaf's behalf. It would have made him proud, entitling himself an artist as he always was throughout his career. 

lördag 13 maj 2017

And the awardees are...

I am truly proud to announce that Gustaf Tenggren has been chosen to be inducted as a member of The Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame in New York. Finally he is acknowledged as one of the great illustration artists of USA.
Award of Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame
The induction ceremony will take place on June 22nd, 2017, at the premises of the Society of Illustrators in New York City. He is in good company – the other laureates at the event are:

Mort Drucker
Bart Forbes
Burne Hogarth
Anita Kunz
George Petty
Ralph Steadman

So go for a ticket while you can! https://www.societyillustrators.org/shop/buy-tickets/1121

torsdag 6 april 2017

Beyond Golden Books

In a series of lectures, the archivists and curators of The Archives of University of Minneapolis will talk about exciting holdings from the collections and their originators .
First in line on Friday April 7, is "Beyond Golden Books: The Art of Gustaf Tenggren", presented by Caitlin Marineau, the Children’s Literature Research Collections.
Illustration for Catherine and Frank Wells: "The Last Fairy", Good Housekeeping 1925 

Gustaf Tenggren is known and beloved for his illustrations for books such as The Poky Little Puppy, as well as his work on many classic Disney films, but if we dive deeper into his work, we can unearth a treasure chest of art, from unpublished works to out-of-print classics.