I was having lunch with Shoshanna, the blogger behind Dreams Into Lightning, last week, who mentioned that children’s book illustrator Trina Schart Hyman had died of cancer late last year. I somehow hadn’t known that.
Like most Americans of my generation, I saw tons of Hyman’s illustrations while I was growing up (she was a mainstay at Cricket magazine during its heyday) (“heyday,” in this context, is a word that means “when I was a kid”). But I first became aware of her as an artist to study when my friend Jenn Manley Lee mentioned Hyman as an influence on her work.
Hyman has become one of my favorite illustrators; I love the way her strong linework interacts with soft colors, letting her work be both misty and rock-solid at the same time; her always-spot-on body language; her amazing way with textures and patterns. In recent years, she also showed a strong feminist streak in her work, a change which (predictably) pissed some folks off but which delighted me.
Oh! I recognize her style. I remember images like this from my sisters’ hand-me-downs. I always loved them — so wispy and lovely.
Oh, such a shame. I loved her drawings (and that style) as a child.
I went to a Powell’s signing several years ago so I could get her to sign my copy of Carol Ryrie Brink’s Caddie Woodlawn. There was definitely a lot of her own image in her characters, male and female.
Also, have any of you noticed that there’s something of her characters’ faces in Ivan Velez’ old comic book, Tale From The Closet ? I remember describing the comic strip to Hyman, and she seemed very pleased that somebody was doing a coming-of-age comic about lesbian and gay youth. That was before I learned that Hyman herself was a lesbian.
Oh, no! I had no idea.
She’s why I’m an artist.
I greatly enjoyed her work. Her Snow White (from which you showed a picture) was the first of her books which I saw shortly after getting married but before having kids. I’ve always enjoyed her artwork (though I didn’t pursue her books as one of the things I collect). I thank you for mentioning it, but I hadn’t been aware of it. It’s hard not to feel sad when hearing for the first time of the passing of someone you admired.
Thanks for posting this. Your readers might also be interested in visiting my Trina Schart Hyman post.
oops, never mind, i see it
I too was enchanted by Mz Hyman’s work as a child and still am as an adult. She is my greatest inspiration for my ambition to illustrate children’s books-which I’m finally getting around to. I had no idea she was same-sex oriented, not that I expect one’s sexual orientation to necessarily show up in one’s profession, but how did you know she was?
Kate, she gave an interview to Ms. Magazine several years ago and talked about the pressures of being a lesbian Mom way back when. The interview was around the time that her collaboration with her daughter Katrin Tchana, The Serpent Slayer, was published.
I, too, love her illustrations! I wonder if she ever allowed coloring sheets of her work to be used (a la Jan Brett). My library system is using the “Once Upon a TIme” theme for our summer reading program and I would love to be able to offer a “princess” or other folklore-type coloring sheet using young women/girls who are non-Caucasian. No one did it better!
Hello, Exciting news for fans of Trina Schart Hyman! She completed a book (the third) with her daughter Katrin before her death which has just been released this spring. Trina was one of the first artists to support our book illustrator gallery and Katrin is continuing the relationship. We have produced fine art prints from the original collage art that Katrin will not be selling. Changing Woman and Her Sisters, Stories of Goddesses from Around the World is available from us as well as any other good bookstore. Trina as a person is missed by many of us. She was fearless. http://www.childatheartgallery.com
I found your blog when looking at all the links for Trina. I loved her work ever since I was a child, and I felt as if the world had lost a great deal with her passing. I know it’s been a while since her death, but it still seems unreal to me.
I guess Trina Schart Hyman will always be alive in our hearts and in her illustrations.
Yeah, her work definitely evokes the 70s childhood. Last year, Amy Loves Books wrote about one Trina Schart Hyman illustrated book that probably won’t be getting republished anytime soon… but the illustrations are still lovely.
I love her illustrations, but she ruined me for life for hair. I’ll never get over the fact that I don’t have lovely heavy wavy locks.
I grew up reading Cricket and also books illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. I am always able to recognize her style and fall easily into her pictures. I only just learned while in Powell’s Books yesterday that she died. Even though it was awhile ago, it made me so sad. She is forever an inspiration to me!
An Open Letter:
Dear Ms. Hyman,
I’ve started a project, thanking the authors who had an impact on my life.
I came across your pages in the RIF “Once Upon A Time” book, and realized I’d been short-sighted.
Long before I knew your name, I knew your hand. And, while you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, I did judge stories by their illustrations. You bring such life and sensitivity, I knew anything you’d touched would be worth reading.
And now, writing this letter and looking for your contact information, I learn I’m too late.
Damn.
Thank you.