Fritz Kredel
Fritz Kredel (February 8, 1900 – April 12, 1973) was a German, later American artist and graphic designer.[1]
Fritz Kredel | |
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Born | February 8, 1900 Michelstadt-im-Odenwald, Germany |
Died | April 12, 1973 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Occupation | Graphic designer, illustrator |
Early years
He was born in Michelstadt-im-Odenwald, then in the Grand Duchy of Hesse of the German Empire. In his early years, he studied under Rudolf Koch at Offenbach School of Art and Design, and developed skills in woodcuts. Koch and Kredel collaborated on A Book of Signs (1923) and The Book of Flowers (1930). Following Koch's death in 1934, Kredel moved to Frankfurt, but in 1938 he fled Germany for political reasons with help from Melbert Cary.
Career
After emigrating to the United States that year, he taught at Cooper Union in New York and continued to work as an artist. He produced illustrations for over 400 books in German and English and received many awards and honors. Many of his originals are now housed at the Art Library at Yale University.[2]
Kredel illustrated Eleanor Roosevelt's children's book, Christmas (Alfred A. Knopf, 1940), and was commissioned to create a woodcut of the Presidential Seal for the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.[1] He illustrated several volumes for George Macy's Limited Edition Club (cf. Heritage Press), and the original World's Best Fairy Tales for Reader's Digest Association (1967). The Limited Edition Club titles include The Complete Andersen: All of the Stories of Hans Christian Andersen in Six Volumes, a limited edition of 1500 sets for the Limited Editions Club (completed as a set, 1949, LCCN 49-3049). Kredel also colored the John Tenniel illustrations for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass for the 1946 Random House editions.[3][4]
References
- Glueck, Grace (2000-11-10). "ART IN REVIEW; Fritz Kredel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- "The Atlas of Early Printing". atlas.lib.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- Kredel, Fritz;Zapf (1951). "Fritz Kredel, woodcutter and book illustrator, Hermann Zapf, calligrapher and type designer". library.si.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- "Fritz KREDEL (1900-1973)". Artprice.com. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
Other Resources
- Zipes, Jack (ed.) (2000), The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-9653635-7-0CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Kredel Brown, Mathilde and Judith Kredel Brown (editors) (2000), Fritz Kredel, New York: Steinhour PressCS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Brown Swanson, Mathilde Kredel (2013), Fritz Kredel: Artist, Illustrator and Grandfather, Printing History. https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-407670281/fritz-kredel-artist-illustrator-and-grandfather
External links
- Works by Fritz Kredel at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Fritz Kredel at Internet Archive
- Fritz Kredel at Library of Congress Authorities, with 113 catalogue records
- Fritz Kredel Letters at the Newberry Library