Weisgard Family Donates
From the January 2011 issue of Our Moment, the UConn Foundation's e-newsletter.
By Suzanne Zack, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Leonard Weisgard spent his life giving visual expression to scores of stories he and others had written for children. In the process, he helped generations of young readers open their eyes to new ideas and take their first steps into yet to be discovered worlds.
“Books have opened doors and spread wide vistas of excitement and hope for me and I want so very much for young people everywhere to experience this same potential breadth and hope,” he once said.
A treasure trove of illustrations, sketches, letters, books, and collateral materials that document the creative process and life of this prolific and widely acclaimed illustrator and writer was recently given to the Northeast Children’s Literature Collection (NCLC) at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center by Weisgard’s children.
Leonard Weisgard illustrated more than 200 children’s books, perhaps most memorably with his longtime friend and collaborator author Margaret Wise Brown, including those for “The Little Island,” which earned him a coveted Caldecott Award, given annually for the most distinguished picture book for children. Their collaboration began in 1939 with the “Noisy Books” series, which encouraged young readers to imitate sounds of animals and everyday life.
Weisgard, whose career began in the 1930s and extended through the early 1970s, died in 2000 at the age of 83 in his adopted home of Denmark. After his death, Weisgard’s children were at a loss as to what to do with his artwork. Seeking advice, his oldest child, Abigail Weisgard, contacted notable people she knew in the field, including writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak; prominent children’s literature author and critic Leonard S. Marcus, the chief curator of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Books; H. Nichols B. Clark; and Mrs. Billie M. Levy, one of the founders of the Northeast Children’s Literature Collection and a staunch supporter of the genre.
A tour of the Dodd Research Center was arranged, and impressed with the quality of the facility, Abigail persuaded her siblings to place their father’s work with the NCLC.
“To know people will be able to study my father’s artwork in the future and the fact that it will be organized brings me more happiness than I can describe,” Abigail said.
According to curator Terry Goldich, Weisgard’s work is an important addition to the collection, not only because of his stature in the children’s literature world but because of the depth and breadth of the collection materials.
“Once processed, researchers will be able to gain a deeper knowledge of the creative processes Leonard employed as well as get to know him as father and husband, as evidenced by the illustrated personal letters and notes between him, his children, and his wife,” Goldich says.
To support the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, please contact the UConn Foundation's development department.
