Kurt Werth (September 21, 1896 – August 25, 1983) was a German-born illustrator best known for American children's books. Werth was born September 21, 1896, in

Leipzig, Germany Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. He studied at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig in Leipzig beginning in 1913. He studied there for two years before being drafted into the German army. After his two years of service he returned to the Academy. His professor was influenced by Cézanne, although the public wasn't yet aware of the new trend of cubism in art. At the Academy, Werth studied the new graphic techniques and tried them out as illustrations of literary works. After graduating, Werth began to illustrate books, the first being Shakespeare's ''

Troilus and Cressida ''The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida'', often shortened to ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ), is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forc ...

'' which was well received. Werth moved to

Munich, Germany Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

after graduating, to draw satirical cartoons for various Munich magazines. In 1928, he and his wife Margaret, a Jewish German, moved to

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

so that she could become part of the City Theater. In Berlin, Werth continued to draw satirical cartoons for Berlin magazines. With

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's increasing power, the magazines folded, and Margaret Werth, who was Jewish, was not allowed to work. In the 1939 the Werths emigrated to the United States where Werth found employment illustrating a Sunday column in the

New York Times magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazin ...

.Guide to the Kurt Werth Papers 1896-1983
/ref> Werth began drawing political cartoons for a wide number of U.S. magazines with a political bent once the U.S. became involved in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war Werth began to illustrate children's books. One of his first attempts was Rosalys Hall's ''The Merry Miller.'' This attempt led to many other offers for illustrating work. Werth became a United States citizen in 1947. Werth states, "As a German I was certainly influenced by the tradition of exact and thorough training in drawing. This goes back to Dürer and even farther." He attempts to illustrate children's books in a "modern style". "Books have to be illustrated in our times. They should show the style of our times. Not all of them do it." Kurt Werth died in New York City on August 25, 1983.

Awards

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was an American literary award conferred on several books by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education annually from 1958 to 1979. Award-winning books were deemed to "belong on the same shelf" as ''Al ...

in 1969 for ''McBroom Tells the Truth'' by

Sid Fleischman Albert Sidney Fleischman (born Avron Zalmon Fleischman; March 16, 1920 – March 17, 2010) was an American people, American author of children's books, screenplays, novels for adults, and nonfiction books about stage magic (illusion), magic. His ...

Golden Kite Award The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing ...

in 1973 for ''McBroom the Rainmaker'' by Sid Fleischman, * New Jersey Institute of Technology Award in 1971 for ''That Jefferson Boy''.

Illustrated books

* Higgledy-Piggledy Room; by Elizabeth Ryan. 1948 * No Ducks For Dinner; story by Rosalys Hall. 1953 * Once the Mullah; Persian folk tales retold by

Alice Geer Kelsey Alice Geer Kelsey (September 21, 1896 – September 1982) was an American writer of children's books, many of which were based on folk tales she collected during her long public service career in Europe and the Near East. Life and career A ...

. 1954 * One Mitten Lewis; by Helen Kay, pseud. 1955 * The story of San Francisco; by Charlotte E Cobden Jackson. 1955 * An Elephant in the Family by James Playsted Wood; 1957 * Danger in the Everglades by Frederick W. Keith. 1957 * The year without a Santa Claus. by

Phyllis McGinley Phyllis McGinley (March 21, 1905 – February 22, 1978) was an American author of children's books and poetry. Her poetry was in the style of light verse, specializing in humor, satiric tone and the positive aspects of suburban life. She won a Pu ...

. 1957 * The thing at the foot of the bed and other scary tales. by

Maria Leach Maria Leach (April 30, 1892 – May 22, 1977) was an American writer and editor of books on folklores of the world. A noted scholar, she compiled and edited a major reference work on folklore and was the author or editor of thirteen books for adult ...

. 1959 * Stop It, Moppit! by Geraldine Ross, 1959 * Noodles, nitwits, and numskulls by Maria Leach. 1961 * Tony's birds. by

Millicent Selsam Millicent Ellis Selsam (May 30, 1912 – October 12, 1996) was an American children's author. Background Selsam was born May 30, 1912, in New York City. She became interested in biology during her high school years. She took this interest to co ...

. 1961 * A tiger called Thomas. by

Charlotte Zolotow Charlotte Zolotow (born Charlotte Gertrude Shapiro; June 26, 1915 – November 19, 2013) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of many books for children. She wrote about 70 picture book texts. The writers she edited include Paul Fl ...

. 1963 * Hear ye of Boston. by Polly Curren. 1964 * The luck book. by Maria Leach. 1964 * The valiant tailor, by Kurt Werth. 1965 * Sailor Tom, by Edna Boutwell. 1966 * The legends of Paul Bunyan. by Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht. 1966 * McBroom tells the truth, by

. 1966 * McBroom and the big wind, by Sid Fleischman. 1967 * The monkey, the lion, and the snake, by Kurt Werth. 1967 * King Thrushbeard. by Kurt Werth. 1968 * That Lincoln boy. by

Earl Schenck Miers Earl Schenck Miers (27 May 1910 – 17 November 1972) was an American historian. He wrote over 100 books, mostly about the history of the American Civil War. Some of them were intended for children, including three historic novels in the ''We Were ...

. 1968 * One dark night. by Edna Mitchell Preston. 1969 * McBroom's Ear, by Sid Fleischman; Kurt Werth. 1969 * Lazy Jack. by Kurt Werth. 1970 * Samuel Clemens. by Charles Michael Daugherty. 1970 * How a piglet crashed the Christmas party, by Boris Vladimirovich Zakhoder. 1971 * McBroom's zoo, by Sid Fleischman. 1972 * Herbert's stilts, by Hazel Hutchins Wilson. 1972 * McBroom the rainmaker, by Sid Fleischman. 1973 *Molly and the giant, by Kurt Werth; Mabel Watts. 1973 *

Dick Whittington and His Cat ''Dick Whittington and His Cat'' is the English folklore surrounding the real-life Richard Whittington ( 1354 – 1423), wealthy merchant and later Lord Mayor of London. The legend describes his rise from poverty-stricken childhood with the for ...

. by

Eva Moore Eva Moore (9 February 1868 – 27 April 1955) was an English actress. Her career on stage and in film spanned six decades, and she was active in the women's suffrage movement. In her 1923 book of reminiscences, ''Exits and Entrances'', she des ...

. 1974 *The three beggar kings. by Rosalys Haskell Hall. 1974 *The newcomers; ten tales of American immigrants by Joseph Raskin; Edith Raskin. 1974

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Werth, Kurt 1896 births 1983 deaths American children's book illustrators American children's writers Artists from New York City German children's book illustrators German children's writers Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States German male writers Artists from Leipzig Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig alumni 20th-century American male writers