Robert McCloskey
Robert McCloskey was a celebrated author and illustrator of children's books, known for his gentle narratives and exquisite illustrations that often reflect the beauty of everyday life and the natural world. Born in Hamilton, Ohio, he cultivated a love for music and art from a young age, later refining his skills at art schools in Boston and New York City. McCloskey gained prominence in 1939 when he published his first book, "Lentil," and won the prestigious Prix de Rome. His most famous work, "Make Way for Ducklings," published in 1942, won the Caldecott Medal and inspired a beloved set of bronze statues in Boston's Common, where children celebrate his legacy annually with the Duckling Parade.
McCloskey's storytelling often featured elements from his own life, illustrated through characters based on his daughters and settings familiar to him from family vacations in Maine. His notable titles include "Blueberries for Sal," which received a Caldecott Honor, and "A Time of Wonder," which earned him a second Caldecott Medal in 1958. Throughout his career, McCloskey's works have continued to resonate with children and adults alike, highlighting the joys of childhood and the wonders of nature. He passed away in 2003 on Deer Isle, Maine, leaving behind a rich legacy in children's literature.
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Robert McCloskey
Author
- Born: September 15, 1914
- Birthplace: Hamilton, Ohio
- Died: June 30, 2003
- Place of death: Deer Isle, Maine
Biography
In Boston Commons stands one of the most lasting tributes to the legacy of children’s book illustrator and author Robert McCloskey. It is a set of larger-than-life bronze statues of Mama Duck and her ducklings by sculptor Nancy Schon, based upon the central characters in McCloskey’s Caldecott-winning picture book, Make Way for Ducklings. Every year children in Boston participate in the Duckling Parade, dressing up in duck costumes and listening to readings from the author’s work. McCloskey’s gentle stories and masterful illustrations portray comforting and humorous everyday incidents in children’s lives and capture the beauties of the natural world.
McCloskey was born and grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, where he developed a fascination for music, art, and the intricacies of mechanical objects. His parents were Howard Hill McCloskey and Mable (Wismeyer) McCloskey. He became a proficient artist, muralist, and sculptor, and went to Boston to further his abilities as an artist, attending the Vesper George Art School from 1932 to 1936. He moved to New York City, where he studied at the National Academy of Design from 1936 to 1938, and spent summers in Provincetown on Cape Cod studying with artist Jerry Farnsworth. At the same time, he took a job as a commercial artist to support himself. In 1938, McCloskey briefly returned to Ohio, where he built a portfolio of work before returning to New York City. There he was hired to create murals for the Lever Brothers Building in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The year 1939 was an important turning point in McCloskey’s career. He won the prestigious Prix de Rome and published his first book, Lentil. McCloskey married Margaret Durand, the daughter of Newbery Medal winner Ruth Sawyer, in 1940. After service as a visual aids technical sergeant during World War II, McCloskey turned his attentions back to the creation of children’s books, crafting the classic Make Way for Ducklings in 1942. This success was followed by the Homer Price stories in 1943 and then by a remarkable group of picture books set off the coast of Maine. These stories—Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, and A Time of Wonder—feature locales familiar to McCloskey from family vacations, and use his two daughters, Sarah and Jane, as models. A Time of Wonder, a lyrical tribute in watercolor to the natural beauty of Maine, won McCloskey his second Caldecott Medal in 1958. His gentle story Blueberries for Sal, which employs parallel plots to follow the mix-up between a child and a bear cub and is illustrated in blueberry-colored ink, won a Caldecott Honor Book award in 1949. His story of a child’s losing a tooth, One Morning in Maine, won the same award in 1953. McCloskey died on his beloved Deer Isle in Maine in 2003.