Tasha Tudor

Infobox Writer


imagesize = 150px
name = Starling Burgess
caption =
pseudonym = Tasha Tudor
birthdate = August 28, 1915
birthplace = Boston, Massachusetts
deathdate = June 18, 2008 (aged 92)
deathplace = Marlboro, Vermont
occupation = Author and illustrator
nationality = US
period = 20th Century
genre = Children's, regional painting
subject = New England nostalgia
movement =
influences = E.H. Shepherd, Willebeek la Mair, Rosamund Tudor
Bibliography= Tasha Tudor: The Direction of Her Dreams


website = http://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/

Tasha Tudor (August 28, 1915 – June 18, 2008) [cite web
url= http://www.reformer.com/ci_9634400
accessdate= 2008-06-19
title= Author, illustrator Tasha Tudor dies at 92
publisher= Brattleboro Reformer] was an American illustrator and author of children's books.

Biography

Tasha Tudor was born in Boston, Massachusetts as Starling Burgess. She was named after her father, the naval architect W. Starling Burgess, known as "the Skipper". As he was an admirer of "War and Peace"'s Natasha, she was soon re-christened, and the name was eventually shortened to Tasha. When socializing with her mother's friends, she would usually be introduced as "Rosamund Tudor's daughter, Tasha", leading others to believe that her last name was Tudor. Liking the sound of it, she eventually adopted the name for herself, and she eventually changed her name legally following her first divorce. [Davis (2000), [http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/books/61/0316174939/chapter_excerpt10704.html pp. 15-17] ] She married Thomas McCready in 1938 in Redding, Connecticut. Tasha and Thomas McCready purchased a large old farm in Webster, NH., where four children, Bethany, Seth, Thomas, and Efner, were raised. Her first story, "Pumpkin Moonshine", was published in 1938, as a gift for a young niece of her husband. They were divorced in 1961, and her children legally changed their names from McCready to Tudor. A later marriage, to Allan John Woods, lasted only a brief time. [Davis (2000), pp. 52-53]

She illustrated nearly one hundred books, the last being "Corgiville Christmas", released in 2003. Several were collaborative works with a New Hampshire friend Mary Mason Campbell. Tudor lived in Marlboro, Vermont in a house copied from that of other New Hampshire friends Donn & Doris Purvis. Her son Seth built the replication and lives next door with his family. It is documented in "Drawn from New England", and in "The Private World of Tasha Tudor". Mother and son work closely on family endeavors.

Awards

She received many awards and honors, including Caldecott Honors for "Mother Goose" in 1945 and "1 is One" in 1957. [cite web
url= http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal.htm
accessdate= 2007-08-22
title= Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-present
publisher= American Library Association] She received the Regina Medal in 1971 for her contributions to children's literaturecite web
url= http://www.cathla.org/awards_regina.php
title= Regina Medal
publisher= Catholic Library Association
accessdate= 2007-08-22] . Her books feature simple, captivating and often rhyming text accompanied by enchanting detailed and realistic drawings with soft colors. Text and pictures are often bordered by intricate details such as flowers, birds or other charming objects and animals. The visual or textual content often refers to traditions , artifacts or memories of the 19th century. Her books are highly valued possessions of an appreciative audience - one that has grown since she was first represented in the 1940s by the Pennsylvania shop The Dutch Inn in Mill Hall. She also created thousands of original works of art which appear on Christmas cards, Advent calendars, Valentines, posters, and in other forms. The original art is found in museums, libraries and hundreds of private collections around the world.

One of her most famous books is "Corgiville Fair", published in 1971. The first of a series to feature anthropomorphic corgis, the book was extremely popular.

Later years

Tudor toured the country for many years, giving speeches at libraries, colleges and museums. Her last major appearances were at the 1996/97 retrospective exhibition at Colonial Williamsburg. Many of her personal artifacts and doll house objects were shown there as well as fine manuscripts loaned by the Pierpont Morgan Library. An exhibition celebrating Tudor's holiday artwork and celebrations, "Tasha Tudor's Spirit of the Holidays", was displayed in 2005/06 at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan in 2006/07. It was shown at the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City from November 2007 through March 2008. That exhibit included two early oil paintings that Rosamund Tudor created of her daughter circa 1920 and 1930. Many other original paintings and her first miniature illustrated manuscript "Hitty's Almanac" were included in the 2006 exhibition at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.

Death

She died on June 18, 2008 in Marlboro, Vermont. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Tasha Tudor, Children’s Book Illustrator, Dies at 92 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/books/20tudor.html?em&ex=1214193600&en=a6d72f302b0a7fc7&ei=5087%0A |quote=Tasha Tudor, a children’s illustrator whose pastel watercolors and delicately penciled lines depicted an idyllic, old-fashioned vision of the 19th-century way of life she famously pursued — including weaving, spinning, gathering eggs and milking goats — died on Wednesday at her home in Marlboro, Vermont. |publisher=New York Times |date= |accessdate=2008-06-21 ]

Legacy

Tudor's daughters "Bethany Tudor" and "Efner Holmes" are also accomplished authors and illustrators.

Books

Titles written and illustrated by Tasha Tudor include the following:

*"Pumpkin Moonshine"
*"A Tale for Easter"
*"Snow before Christmas"
*"Thistly B"
*"The Dolls' Christmas"
*"Edgar Allan Crow"
*"Amanda and the Bear"
*"A is for Annabelle"
*"1 is One"
*"A Time to Keep"
*"Corgiville Fair"
*"Tasha Tudor's Seasons of Delight"
*"The Great Corgiville Kidnapping"

Titles illustrated by Tasha Tudor include the following:

*"The Wind in the Willows", 1966, World Publishing
*"Wings from the Wind", 1964, J. B. Lippincott
*"A Basket of Herbs", 1983, Stephen Greene Press
*"The Night Before Christmas", 1975, Rand McNally & Company
*"The Secret Garden", 1962, Harper & Row Publishers
*"A Little Princess", 1963, HarperCollins Publishers

External links

* [http://www.theworldoftashatudor.com/ Official site]
*http://www.cellardoorbooks.com/
*http://www.thegavel.net/2021.html/
*http://www.ortakales.com/illustrators/Tudor.html
*http://www.thehenryford.org/calendar/tashatudor/tashatudor.asp
*http://www.nrm.org/page65
*http://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/
*http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/books/20tudor.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries

Notes

References

*cite book
last= Davis
first= Harry
title= The Art of Tasha Tudor
publisher= Little, Brown and Company
date= October 11, 2000
isbn= 978-0316174930

Persondata
NAME = Tudor, Tasha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Burgess, Starling
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Author and illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH = August 28, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH = Boston, Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH = June 18, 2008
PLACE OF DEATH = Marlboro, Vermont