Alice Rose Provensen (''née'' Twitchell; August 14, 1918 – April 23, 2018) and Martin Provensen (July 10, 1916 – March 27, 1987) were an American couple who illustrated more than 40 children's books together, 19 of which they also wrote and edited. According to Alice, "we were a true collaboration. Martin and I really were one artist."

Biographies

Their early lives were similar. Both were born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and both moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

when they were twelve. Both received scholarships to the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mil ...

, and both attended the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...

, though at separate campuses. After college, Alice went to work with

Walter Lantz Studio Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...

, the creators of

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Productions, Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures, Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropom ...

, and Martin took work with the Walt Disney Studio, where he collaborated on ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

'', ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

'', and ''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...

''. The pair met in 1943 when Martin, working as a creator of training films for the American military, was assigned to the Walter Lantz Studio. They were married in 1944 and settled in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where they worked on war-related projects. After the war they moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

where a friend helped them get their first job, illustrating ''The Fireside Book of Folk Songs''. They illustrated several

Little Golden Books Little Golden Books is a series of children's books, published since 1942. '' The Poky Little Puppy'', the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States.. Many other Little Golden Books have ...

including '' The Color Kittens'' by

Margaret Wise Brown Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American people, American writer of children's books, including ''Goodnight Moon'' and ''The Runaway Bunny'', both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of ...

(1949). In 1952,

Tony the Tiger Tony the Tiger is the advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (also known as Frosties) breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising. Tony has also been the mascot for related cereals such as Tony's Cinnamon Krun ...

, designed by Martin, debuted as a

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...

mascot. The Provensens were a runner-up for the 1982

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Servic ...

as illustrators of '' A Visit to William Blake's Inn'' by Nancy Willard (who won the companion

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...

). Two years later they won the Caldecott for ''

The Glorious Flight ''The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Blériot'' is a children's picture book by Alice Provensen and Martin Provensen. Released by Viking Press, in 1983, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration An illustr ...

'', the story of

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

Louis Blériot Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of th ...

, the first man to fly solo across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

, which they also wrote. The annual award by U.S. professional librarians recognizes the year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". Eight of their books were named to ''The New York Times'' annual Ten Best Illustrated Books, including ''Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm'' (1974) and ''An Owl and Three Pussycats'' (1981). The couple were collaborative illustrators for Donald Waxman's "Pagaents for Piano," a series of pedagogical primers. The couple lived for many years at Maple Hill Farm in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later or ...

, which they portrayed in ''A Year at Maple Hill Farm'' (1978) as well as ''Our Animal Friends''. Martin died of a heart attack on March 27, 1987, in

Staatsburg Staatsburg is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Hyde Park, a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 377 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan ...

. Alice continued to live and work at Maple Hill Farm, publishing solo work such as ''The Buck Stops Here: the Presidents of the United States'' (1990) and ''My fellow Americans: a family album'' (1995), two presentations of people and events from American history (juvenile nonfiction).''Punch in New York'', published in 1991, received several honors and is dedicated to her grandson, Sean. After turning ninety, Alice moved to San Clemente, California, to live with her daughter, Karen Mitchell, and her family. Provensen continued working (an addition was added to her daughter's house for a studio) well into her nineties. She died only four months before her 100th birthday.

Books

* ''The Fuzzy Duckling'', by

Jane Werner Watson Jane Werner Watson, born Elsa Jane Werner (July 11, 1915 – 2004) was an American children's author. She also wrote under the names Elsa Jane Werner Watson, Jane Werner, Annie North Bedford, Monica Hill, Elsa Ruth Nast, W. K. Jasner, and A. N. B ...

(Little Golden Book 1949) * ''Katie the Kitten'', by Kathryn & Byron Jackson * ''The Little Fat Policeman'', by

and

Edith Thacher Hurd Edith Thacher Hurd (September 14, 1910 – January 25, 1997) was an American writer of children's books. She published 70 books in her lifetime,Saxon, Wolfgang''The New York Times'' (July 25, 1997). fifty of them illustrated by her husband, Clemen ...

(Little Golden Book 1950) * ''Tales from the Ballet'', selected by

Louis Untermeyer Louis Untermeyer (October 1, 1885 – December 18, 1977) was an American poet, anthologist, critic, and editor. He was appointed the fourteenth Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1961. Life and career Untermeyer was born in New Y ...

(Golden Press, 1968) * ''The Mother Goose Book'' (Random House, 1976) * ''The Provensen Animal Book'' (Golden Press, 1952), a.k.a. ''The Animal Fair'' * ''A Horse and a Hound, A Goat and A Gander'' ~Maple Hill Farm content * ''Town & Country'' * ''My Little Hen'' (Random House, 1973) ~Maple Hill Farm content * ''A Child's Garden of Verses'' (Simon and Schuster, 1951) * ''Leonardo da Vinci'' (Paper engineering by John Strejan, The Viking Press,1984) * ''The Golden Bible: The New Testament'' (Golden Press, 1953) * ''The Golden Treasury of Myths and Legends'' by Anne Terry White (Golden Press, 1959) * ''Aesop's Fables'' (Golden Press) * ''The Iliad and the Odyssey'' by Jane Werner Watson (Golden Press, 1956) * ''What Is a Color?'' * ''The Book of Seasons'' (Random House) * ''Golden Book of Fun and Nonsense'' * ''The Provensen Book of Fairy Tales'' * ''The Color Kittens'', by Margaret Wise Brown (Little Golden Books, 1949) * ''Alfred Lord Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade'' (Golden;

Paul Hamlyn Paul Hamlyn, Baron Hamlyn, (12 February 1926 – 31 August 2001) was a German-born British publisher and philanthropist, who established the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in 1987. Early life He was born Paul Bertrand Wolfgang Hamburger in Berlin, Ge ...

, 1964) — an edition of Tennyson's 1854 poem * ''Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm'' (Random House, 1974) ~Maple Hill Farm content * ''A Peaceable Kingdom: the Shaker abecedarius'' (Viking, 1978) — an edition of "Rhymes of Animals", ''Shaker Manifesto'', July 1882 * ''The Year at Maple Hill Farm'' (Atheneum, 1978) ~Maple Hill Farm content * ''An Owl and Three Pussycats'' (Atheneum, 1981) ~Maple Hill Farm content * ''A Visit to William Blake's Inn: poems for innocent and experienced travelers'', by Nancy Willard (Harcourt Brace, 1981) * ''The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot, July 25, 1909'' (Viking, 1983) * ''The Voyage of the Ludgate Hill: travels with Robert Louis Stevenson'', by Nancy Willard (Harcourt Brace, 1987) * ''Shaker Lane'' (Viking, 1987) * ''Come, Lord Jesus (~1965) * ''Funny Bunny'' by Rachel Learnard (Golden) * ''Fireside Book of Folk Songs'' * ''Fireside Book of Love Songs'' * ''Fireside Cookbook'' * ''Roses Are Red, Are Violets Blue?'' (Random House) * ''Instruments of the Orchestra'', by Jane Bunche * ''Ten Great Plays'', by William Shakespeare (Hamlyn, 1963) * ''Who's in the Egg?'' (Golden, 1970) * ''A Play on Words'' (Random House, 1970) * ''The Golden Serpent'' by

Walter Dean Myers Walter Dean Myers (born Walter Milton Myers; August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was an American writer of children's books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem. A tough childh ...

(Viking, 1980) * ''Birds, beasts, and the third thing: poems'' by D.H. Lawrence (Viking, 1982) — an edition of Lawrence's 1925 collection * ''Karen's Opposites'' (Golden, 1963) * ''Karen's Curiosity'' (Golden, 1963) * "The Old-Fashioned Cookbook" by Jan McBride Carlton (Weathervane Books, 1975) ;Publications by Alice Provensen since 1988 * ''The Buck Stops Here: the presidents of the United States'' (Harper & Row, 1990) * ''Punch in New York'' (Viking, 1991) ‡ * ''My Fellow Americans: a family album'' (San Diego: Browndeer Press, 1995) * ''Count on me'' (Harcourt Brace, 1998) — set of 10

board books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

‡ * ''The Master Swordsman & The Magic Doorway: two legends from ancient China'', retold and illus. Alice Provensen (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2001) ‡ * ''A Day in the Life of Murphy'' (S&S BYR, 2003) ‡ ~Maple Hill Farm content * ''Klondike Gold'' (S&S BYR, 2005) ‡ ‡ unpaged picture books

References

External links

* *
Martin Provensen
at LC Authorities, with 56 records * __FORCETOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Provensen, Alice And Martin American children's book illustrators American children's writers American women illustrators Art duos Caldecott Medal winners Married couples People from Staatsburg, New York Writing duos 20th-century American women artists