Virginia Lee Burton
Virginia Lee Burton was an influential American author and illustrator born on August 30, 1909, in Newton Center, Massachusetts. She grew up in a creatively stimulating environment, where her parents encouraged artistic pursuits and folk traditions. Burton's artistic journey began in her childhood, eventually leading her to study at the California School of Fine Arts and work at the Boston Transcript, where she honed her illustration skills. In 1931, she married sculptor George Demetrios and later established the Folly Cove Designers, a group of artists known for their innovative textile designs.
Burton made a significant impact in children's literature with her picture books that combined engaging illustrations with meaningful narratives. Her first book, "Choo Choo: The Story of a Little Engine Who Ran Away," was published in 1935, followed by her most famous work, "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel," in 1939. Burton aimed to create quality illustrated books that conveyed deeper messages, focusing on themes of perseverance and resilience. She received the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1943 for her book "The Little House," further solidifying her legacy. Despite her passing in 1968, Burton's works continue to resonate with readers and are celebrated as classics in children's literature.
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Subject Terms
Virginia Lee Burton
Illustrator
- Born: August 30, 1909
- Birthplace: Newton Center, Massachusetts
- Died: October 15, 1968
- Place of death: Folly Cove, Gloucester, Massachusetts
Biography
Virginia Lee Burton was born on August 30, 1909, at Newton Center, Massachusetts, to Alfred E. Burton and Lena Dalkeith Yates Burton. Her father served as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s dean. Burton’s mother, a native of England, wrote poems and plays, encouraging her children to enjoy English folk traditions, especially during holidays. Burton often received picture books for gifts. The family’s barn served as a school. Burton’s parents entertained children with marionette performances.
When she was eight, Burton moved with her family to San Diego, California. After a year, they relocated to Carmel-by-the-Sea on the Northern California coast, a community which encouraged artistic endeavors. Interested in dancing and art, Burton developed her talents in both pursuits during her childhood and danced in amateur theatrical performances. She edited her high school’s yearbook, taught dancing, and excelled in art classes, earning a state-funded scholarship to enroll at the California School of Fine Arts in 1926. While commuting on ferries and cable cars to school, she sketched. Burton also took ballet lessons in San Francisco.
Burton stopped her studies in 1928, expecting to dance with her sister’s New York company. Instead, she moved to Boston, where her father had returned, to nurse a leg that he had fractured. Burton worked for more than two years at the Boston Transcript, creating sketches for arts stories. She also earned income instructing art classes at a Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) camp and to local children in addition to teaching swimming and lifesaving courses.
By autumn of 1930, Burton was studying drawing with sculptor George Demetrios at the Boston Museum School. Resigning her Boston Transcript position, Burton married Demetrios on March 28, 1931. They had two sons. After living in Lincoln, Massachusetts, for one year, they settled at Folly Cove near Gloucester, Massachusetts. Burton established and directed the Folly Cove Designers, offering instruction in graphic design for printing textiles, primarily linen and silk. Her studio artists gained acclaim for printing with linoleum blocks, selling textiles printed with their designs. Suffering from lung cancer, Burton died on October 15, 1968, at Boston’s Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
Burton wrote and illustrated picture books, drawing each book’s art first, often using scratchboard techniques, then writing the accompanying text. After publishers rejected her early efforts, Burton revised her work to be more interesting to children, resulting in the publication of her first book, Choo Choo: The Story of a Little Engine Who Ran Away, in 1935. Four years later, her publisher released Burton’s best-known book, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Disliking comic books, she endeavored to provide children quality illustrated books in which pictures conveyed meanings more effectively than words.
Most critics praised Burton’s themes of perseverance, purpose, and resilience despite societal and technological changes, although some reviewers considered her stories too nostalgic and implausible. The American Library Association presented the 1943 Caldecott Medal to Burton for her artistry in The Little House. That book also received the 1959 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Reader demand resulted in Burton’s books being translated and published posthumously as children’s literature classics.