Kate Seredy
Kate Seredy was a Hungarian-born artist and author, born on November 10, 1899, in Budapest. She was raised in a culturally rich environment, which fostered her artistic talents from a young age. During World War I, she served as a nurse and developed pacifist beliefs. After studying at the Academy of Arts in Budapest and traveling extensively for further artistic education, Seredy emigrated to the United States in 1922, where she initially struggled with the language barrier.
In her new home, she worked on various artistic projects, including illustrating children's literature. Her breakthrough came with her first book, *The Good Master*, published in 1931, which drew from her childhood experiences in Hungary. This book and its themes of hard work, courage, and nature were reflective of her own life and the stories she cherished. Throughout her career, Seredy authored and illustrated numerous children's books, including the acclaimed *The White Stag*, which won the Newbery Medal in 1938. Seredy's work is characterized by its vivid imagery and deep cultural roots, and she continued to produce literature until her passing on March 7, 1975.
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Subject Terms
Kate Seredy
Author
- Born: November 10, 1899
- Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary
- Died: March 7, 1975
- Place of death: Middletown, New York
Biography
Kate Seredy was born on November 10, 1899, in Budapest, Hungary. Her father, Louis Peter Seredy, was a teacher; her mother, Anna Irany Seredy, was a homemaker. Seredy was, from an early age, an artist, and her family home was filled with books, music, and opportunities for expression.
During World War I, Seredy served as a nurse, and became a pacifist. She studied for six years at the Academy of Arts in Budapest, earning a teaching certificate, and from 1918 to 1922 she spent her summers taking art courses in Paris, Rome, and Berlin. In 1922, she emigrated to the United States, where she lived for the rest of her life, although she continued to travel throughout Europe when time permitted. She did not know English when she arrived in the United States, but was already fluent in Hungarian, German, and French. Seredy worked as an artist, designing greeting cards and book covers, and illustrating children’s books and textbooks. In 1933, she established a children’s bookstore, which closed before long but which taught her a great deal about children’s literature.
After an editor suggested that she about growing up in Hungary, Seredy published The Good Master, the first book she both wrote and illustrated. The book tells the story of a selfish girl named Kate who visits her uncle, the Good Master, in rural Hungary and learns the value of hard work. Based on Seredy’s own experiences in the countryside when she was nine years old, the book included several black-and-white illustrations of traditional Hungarian peasant life.
This title led to eleven more children’s books in twenty- six years, exploring themes of courage, hard work, and the beauty of nature. Many of them, including The White Stag, were based on stories Seredy had heard from her father when she was a child. The White Stag, for example, is a retelling of traditional legends about the ancient settlers of Hungary.
In 1936, Seredy moved to an old farmhouse in the countryside near Montgomery, New York. There she was able to work in isolation. In addition to her own books, she illustrated dozens of books by others. Nearly twenty years later, she left the farm and moved into the town of Montgomery.
Seredy’s last publication was Lazy Tinka, a fantasy about a lazy peasant girl who meets wild animals in the forest and learns a lesson about cheerfully doing her chores. This book, the only one of Seredy’s to be illustrated in full color, returned her to the theme of her first book. She died on March 7, 1975, in Middletown, New York.
Seredy’s writing was strongly influenced by her art, and her prose is recognized for its strong visual qualities. The Good Master was a Newbery Honor Book in 1936, and The White Stag won the Newbery Medal in 1938. She illustrated the 1936 Newbery Medal winner, Carol Ryrie Brink’s Caddie Woodlawn, and The Christmas Anna Angel (1944) by Ruth Sawyer, a Caldecott Honor Book.