Jane Frances Aaron (April 16, 1948 – June 27, 2015) was an American filmmaker and

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

, best known for her work on ''

Between the Lions ''Between the Lions'' is an American animated/live-action/puppet educational children's television series designed to promote reading. The show is a co-production between WGBH in Boston, Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in New York City, and Mississipp ...

'' and ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''. Aaron mixed live-action shots and animated images to teach children the alphabet, counting skills, and opposites, such as front and back or full and empty.

Early life and education

Aaron was born April 16, 1948, in Manhattan, New York City, to Jewish parents Sam Aaron and Florence ( Goldberg). She attended the

High School of Music & Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as Music & Art (or M&A), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High S ...

and graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

with a bachelor's degree in fine arts.

Career

In addition to her animation work, Aaron illustrated the ''When I'm...'' book series written by Barbara Gardiner. She also worked with Oralee Wachter on two films about child sexual abuse and prevention, ''No More Secrets for Me'' and ''Close to Home''. The films were later made into books illustrated by Aaron. Aaron's independent films have been shown at the

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...

and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. Permanent collections of her work exist at the Museum of Modern Art, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, the

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed ...

and the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

. She received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1985.

Personal life

Aaron married

Skip Blumberg Skip Blumberg (born October 10, 1947) is an American filmmaker. He is one of the original camcorder-for-broadcast TV producers, and among the first wave of video artists in the 1970s. His early work reflects the era's emphasis on guerrilla tactics ...

on January 17, 1988, with whom she had one son, Timothy Aaron. She died of cancer in Manhattan on June 27, 2015, aged 67. In addition to her husband and son, she was survived by her mother and three siblings.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron, Jane 1948 births 2015 deaths People from Manhattan American children's book illustrators Artists from New York City Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni Animators from New York (state) American women children's book illustrators Jewish American film people The High School of Music & Art alumni American women animators 20th-century American women artists 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American women artists 21st-century American Jews