Our articles about recently-released books are great resources for readers interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House books. Here is a brief overview about ​Garth Williams, American Illustrator: A Life.

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Author: Elizabeth K. Wallace and James D. Wallace
Publisher: Beaufort Books (June 13, 2016)

Synopsis:

Open the pages of children’s classics like Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, The Cricket in Times Square, and the Little House books, and you’ll find the unmistakable art of Garth Williams. Behind these iconic illustrations was a man with an extraordinary life.

Born in New York in 1912, Williams was educated in England, trained in Europe, and lived through the Blitz before returning to New York’s vibrant 1940s art scene. He later settled in Aspen and then Mexico, crossing paths with figures like Winston Churchill, E. B. White, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

This is the first full biography of Garth Williams, created with help from his family. It traces his path from award-winning sculptor to beloved illustrator, revealing how his work captured the spirit of frontier life and a longing for simplicity in a rapidly changing world. Featuring over 60 illustrations, it explores both the man and the historical moments that shaped his art.

About the Authors:

Elizabeth K. Wallace holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and has taught British literature and culture at Boston College for more than 20 years.  Her previous publications have addressed a broad range of topics from women writers to the origins of shopping, from representations of the slave trade to the television series Mad Men. She has loved the illustrations of Garth Williams since she was a small child, but she holds a special affection for his work in the Little House Series.

James D. Wallace is a scholar of American literature at Boston College, where has been on the faculty since 1985. Since receiving his doctorate from Columbia, he has published on a wide array of topics in American literature culture.

Pick up your own copy of Garth Williams, American Illustrator: A Life here.

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