Leo Dillon (March 2, 1933 – May 26, 2012) and Diane Dillon (''née'' Sorber; born March 13, 1933) were American

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 ...

s of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

and adult

paperback book A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

and

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

covers. One obituary of Leo called the work of the husband-and-wife team "a seamless amalgam of both their hands". In more than 50 years, they created more than 100

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

book and magazine covers together as well as much interior artwork. Essentially all of their work in that field was joint. The Dillons won the

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 Service ...

in 1976 and 1977, the only consecutive awards of the honor. Leo Dillon was the first Black artist to win the Caldecott Medal. In 1978 they were runners-up for the

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

for children's illustrators; they were the U.S. nominee again in 1996.

Biography

Leo Dillon, of

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

immigrant parentage, was born March 2, 1933, and raised in East New York. He enlisted in the Navy for three years' service so that he could attend art school. He credited his interest in art and his inspiration to become an artist to his friend and mentor, Ralph Volman. Diane Sorber was born March 13, 1933, in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

. Her interest in art was encouraged early by her mother, who was a pianist. The couple met at the

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

in New York City in 1953 — where they "became instant archrivals and remained together from then on". They graduated in 1956 and married the next year. This union resulted in an artistic collaboration, which the couple described as a third artist. Diane Dillon explained this in an interview through these words: “We could look at ourselves as one artist rather than two individuals, and that third artist was doing something neither one of us would do. We let it flow the way it flows when an artist is working by themselves and a color goes down that they didn’t quite expect and that affects the next colors they use, and it seems to have a life of its own.” An association with writer

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

led to jobs doing book covers for his short story collections and both cover and interior

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

illustration for his anthology ''

Dangerous Visions ''Dangerous Visions'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by American writer Harlan Ellison and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. It was published in 1967 and contained 33 stories, none of which had been previously publishe ...

''. They illustrated a large number of mass market paperback book covers for the original Ace Science Fiction Specials, for which they won their first major award, science fiction's 1971

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

for Best Professional Artist. A detailed biography and introduction to their work and styles were written by Byron Preiss in a book he edited in 1981, entitled ''The Art of Leo & Diane Dillon''. They once described their work as incorporating motifs derived from their respective heritages. This can be demonstrated in their work for Margaret Musgrove's ''Ashanti to Zulu'', which used tribal motifs and combined historical with contemporary styles. On May 28, 2012, Ellison reported on his website his reception of a phone call from Diane announcing Leo's death at the age of 79 from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

two days prior. Spectrum Fantastic Art, an annual art competition and art book project of which the couple were general managers, confirmed Leo's death on its website. The obituary of Leo in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised the Dillons jointly as "one of the world's pre-eminent illustrators for young people, producing artwork — praised for its vibrancy, ecumenicalism and sheer sumptuous beauty — that was a seamless amalgam of both their hands", also noting the ethnoracial diversity of characters in the Dillons' work in the 1970s, "until then, the smiling faces portrayed in picture books had been overwhelmingly white." Since Leo's death, Diane Dillon has illustrated one book, ''I Can Be Anything! Don’t Tell Me I Can’t'' (published 2018), which she also wrote. The Dillons had one surviving son. Lee (Lionel John Dillon III), born 1965, became an artist and collaborated with his parents several times, including the illustrations for ''Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch'' by Nancy Willard (1991). Both Leo and Diane lived in the Cobble Hill neighborhood at the time of Leo's death.

Picture books illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

*1970 ''The Ring in the Prairie'', written by John Bierhorst / Dial Press *1972 ''Honey, I Love'', Eloise Greenfield / Viking *1973 ''Blast Off'', Linda C. Cain and Susan Rosenbaum / Xerox *1974 ''Whirlwind Is a Ghost Dancing'', compiled by Natalia Maree Belting / Dutton *1974 ''Songs and Stories from Uganda'', W. Moses Serwadda, Hewitt Pantaleoni / World Music Press *1974 ''The Third Gift'', Jan R. Carew / Little Brown *1975 ''The Hundred Penny Box'', Sharon Bell Mathis / Viking *1975 ''Song of the Boat'', Lorenz B. Graham / Crowell *1976 '' Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears'', Verna Aardema / Dial Press *1977 '' Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions'', Margaret Musgrove / Dial Press *1977 ''Who's in Rabbit's House: A Masai Tale'', Verna Aardema / Dial Press *1980 ''Two Pair of Shoes'', P. L. Travers / Viking Press *1980 ''Children of the Sun'', Jan R. Carew / Little Brown *1985 ''Brother to the Wind'', Mildred Pitts Walter / Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books *1986 '' All in a Day'', Mitsumasa Anno and

Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

/ Hamish Hamilton (London) (Translation of: ''Marui chikyū no maru ichinichi''.) —illustrations by 10 artists, including the Dillons *1987 ''The Porcelain Cat'', Michael Patrick Hearn / Little Brown *1989 ''The Color Wizard'', Barbara Brenner / Bantam Little Rooster *1990 ''The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks'',

Katherine Paterson Katherine Paterson (née Womeldorf; born October 31, 1932) is an American writer best known for Children's literature, children's novels, including ''Bridge to Terabithia (novel), Bridge to Terabithia'' (1977), which won the Newbery Medal in 197 ...

/ Lodestar *1990 ''Aïda'',

Leontyne Price Leontyne Price ( born Mary Violet Leontine Price February 10, 1927) is an American spinto soprano who was the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera. ...

/ Harcourt Brace Jovanovich *1991 ''The Race of the Golden Apples'', Claire Martin / Dial Books for Young Readers *1991 ''Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch'', Nancy Willard / Harcourt Brace Jovanovich *1992 ''Northern Lullaby'', Nancy White Carlstrom / Putnam *1992 ''Switch on the Night'',

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

/ Knopf *1993 ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'', Nancy Willard / Scholastic/Blue Sky Press *1994 ''What Am I?'', N. N. Charles / Scholastic/Blue Sky Press *1997 ''To Everything There is a Season'', the Dillons / Scholastic/Blue Sky Press *1999 ''Wind Child'', Shirley Rousseau Murphy / HarperCollins *2000 ''Switch on the Night'',

/ Knopf (reissue) *2000 ''The Girl Who Spun Gold'', Virginia Hamilton / Scholastic/Blue Sky Press *2001 ''Two Little Trains'',

Margaret Wise Brown Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including ''Goodnight Moon'' (1947) and ''The Runaway Bunny'' (1942), both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the ...

/ HarperCollins *2002 ''Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles—Think of That'', written and illustrated by the Dillons / Scholastic/Blue Sky Press *2003 ''One Winter's Night'', John Herman / Philomel *2004 ''Where Have You Been?'', Margaret Wise Brown / HarperCollins *2005 ''The People Could Fly'' - The Picture Book *2005 ''Earth Mother'', Ellen B. Jackson / Walker & Company *2006 ''Whirlwind is a Spirit Dancing'', Natalia Maree Belting and Joseph Bruchac / Milk & Cookies Press —illustrations reprinted from 1974 title, ''Whirlwind is a Ghost Dancing'' *2007 ''Mother Goose numbers on the loose'' / Harcourt *2007 '' Jazz on a Saturday Night'' / Blue Sky Press *2009 '' The Goblin and the Empty Chair'' / Viking Australia *2009 ''Mama Says: A Book of Love for Mothers and Sons'' *2011 ''

The Secret River ''The Secret River'' is a 2005 historical novel by Kate Grenville about an early 19th-century Englishman transported to Australia for theft. The story explores what might have happened when Europeans colonised land already inhabited by Aborigi ...

'', Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings / Atheneum Books for Young Readers (reissue)

Picture books illustrated only by Diane Dillon

*2018 ''I Can Be Anything! Don’t Tell Me I Can’t''

Chapter books illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

*1962 '' Mother Night'', Kurt Vonnegut, Jr / Fawcett Publications/Gold Medal Books *1964 '' The Sea and the Jungle'', H. M. Tomlinson / Time / Time Reading Program Special Edition *1964 '' Hakon of Rogen's Saga'', Erik Christian Haugaard / Houghton Mifflin *1965 '' A Slave's Tale Haugaard'', Erik Christian Haugaard / Houghton Mifflin *1966 '' The Witches of Karres'', James H. Schmitz / Ace Science Fiction Special *1967 '' Claymore and Kilt'', Sorche Nic Leodhas / Holt, Rinehart, Winston *1968 '' Shamrock and Spear Pilkington'' / Holt, Rinehart, Winston *1968 '' The Rider and His Horse'', Erik Christian Haugaard / Houghton Mifflin *1969 '' The Preserving Machine'', Philip K. Dick / Ace Books *1969 '' The Left Hand of Darkness'',

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

/ Ace Books *1971 '' The Untold Tale'', Erik Christian Haugaard / Houghton Mifflin *1971 '' Scholastic Black Literature Series: The Search''editors Alma Murray / Robert Thomas / Scholastic *1974 '' Burning Star'', Eth Clifford / Houghton Mifflin *1977 '' The Planets'' / Time Life Books *1979 ''

A Wrinkle In Time ''A Wrinkle in Time'' is a young adult science fantasy novel written by American author Madeleine L'Engle. First published in 1962, the book won the Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was runner-u ...

'', Madeleine L'Engle / (reissue) *1984 '' The Enchanted World: Legends of Valor'' / Time Life Books *1985 '' The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales'', Virginia Hamilton / Knopf *1985 '' The Enchanted World: Magical Beasts'' / Time Life Books *1987 ''Wise Child'', Monica Furlong / Knopf *1988 '' Sing A Song of Popcorn: Every Child's Book of Poems'' Beatrice Schenk de Regniers / Scholastic — illustrated by many artists *1989 '' Moses' Ark'', Alice Bach and J. Cheryl Exum / Delacorte Press *1991 ''

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

'', Monica Furlong / Random House *1991 '' Miriam's Well'', Bach and Exum / Delacorte Press *1992 '' Many Thousand Gone'', Virginia Hamilton / Knopf *1993 '' It's Kwaanza Time'', Linda Goss, Clay Goss/ Putnam Publishing *1995 '' Her Stories'', Virginia Hamilton / Scholastic / Blue Sky Press *1995 ''

Sabriel ''Sabriel'' is a fantasy novel by Garth Nix, first published in 1995. It is the first in his Old Kingdom (book series), Old Kingdom series, followed by ''Lirael'', ''Abhorsen'', ''Clariel'', ''Old Kingdom (book series)#Goldenhand, Goldenhand,'' ...

'',

Garth Nix Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the ''The Old Kingdom, Old Kingdom'', ''The Seventh Tower, Seventh Tower'' and ''The Keys to the Kingdom, Keys t ...

/ HarperCollins *1997 '' The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese'', Howard A. Norman / Harcourt Brace & Co *2000 ''

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It is considered a classic within its genres and world literature. It was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 i ...

'',

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

/ HarperCollins (reissue) *2001 ''

Mansa Musa Mansa Musa (reigned ) was the ninth '' Mansa'' of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa's reign is often regarded as the zenith of Mali's power and prestige, although he features less in Mandinka oral tradit ...

'', Khephra Burns / Harcourt Brace & Co *2001 '' Lirael'',

/ HarperCollins *2003 '' Abhorsen'', Garth Nix / HarperCollins *2004 '' Between Heaven and Earth: Bird Tales From Around The World'', Howard A. Norman / Harcourt Brace & Co *2004 ''Colman'', Monica Furlong / Random House

Awards

*1971

Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist The Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist is given each year for artists of works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. The award has been given annually under several names since 1955, with the except ...

*1976

– '' Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears'', written by Verna Aardema *1977

– '' Ashanti To Zulu: African Traditions'', written by Margaret Musgrove *1977 Hamilton King Award – Society Of Illustrators *1978 Highly Commended runner-up as a duo,

(body of work, children's book illustration) *1982 Balrog Award For Lifetime Contribution To Science Fiction/Fantasy *1982 Art Ninth Annual Lensman Award *1986 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor – '' The People Could Fly'', written by Virginia Hamilton *1988 Third Annual

Keene State College Keene State College is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Keene, New Hampshire. It is part of the University System of New Hampshire. Founded in 1909 as a teacher's college (originally, Ke ...

Children's Literature Festival Award *1991 Doctorate Of Fine Art Degree –

Parsons School Of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

*1991 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award – ''Aida'', written by Leontyne Price *1992 Empire State Award For Children's And Adult Literature – Body of Work *1992 Society Of Illustrators Gold Medal For Northern Lullaby From The Original Art Show Of Children's Picture Books *1996 U.S. nominee as a duo, Hans Christian Andersen Award (body of work, children's book illustration) *1996 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor – '' Her Stories'', written by Virginia Hamilton *1997 Chesley Award For Best Science Fiction Hardcover – ''

'', written by

*1997 The Grand Masters Award – For Body Of Work *1997 Society of Illustrators Hall Of Fame *2002 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award – For Body Of Work *2003 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor – ''Rap A Tap Tap Here's Bojangles–Think Of That'' *2005 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor – '' The People Could Fly: The Picture Book,'' written by Virginia Hamilton *200
Knickerbocker Award
– For Body Of Work *2006 Doctorate Of Fine Arts – Montserrat School Of Art *2008

World Fantasy Convention The World Fantasy Convention is an annual science fiction convention, convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the event. Other features include an art sh ...

Life Achievement Award *2008 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor – '' Jazz On A Saturday Night'' *2012

BolognaRagazzi Award The Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world. Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy. It is the meeting place for al ...

– Fiction Honorable Mention – ''The Secret River''

Notes

References

External links

* * * at JVJ Publishing Illustrators * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Leo and Diane American children's writers American children's book illustrators American women children's writers American women children's book illustrators Caldecott Medal winners American fantasy artists Hugo Award–winning artists American science fiction artists Married couples Art duos 20th-century African-American artists Coretta Scott King Award winners Writers who illustrated their own writing