Vee Guthrie (July 27, 1920—July 6, 2012) was an American illustrator 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 cookbooks.

Life and career

Viola May Guthrie was born on July 27, 1920, in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

, to parents Matthew Hardin Guthrie and Flora Guthrie (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Flora Hawthorn Taft). She had ancestry from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and was related to the

American colonial American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), Spanish Colonial, French Colonial, Dutch Colonial, and Georgian. ...

Guthries that descended from Clan Guthrie. She grew up in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. Guthrie graduated from The Women's College of Middlebury in 1942 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in American literature and was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. She also studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

. In 1944, she worked as an engineering aid at

Grumman Aircraft The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1 ...

. During

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 ...

, she became an officer of the

WAVES United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942, ...

and was stationed at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

until 1946, when she was discharged. She then attended the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

with the support of the

GI Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, but the te ...

. While living in

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coterminous municipality, coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate ...

, she illustrated the 1957 book ''Let's Go to The Library'', written by Naomi Buchheimer. Guthrie previously illustrated another book in the series, titled ''Let's Take a Trip to a Firehouse'', also written by Buchheimer. The books were meant to supplement schools taking

field trip A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of associated peers, such as coworkers or school students, to a place away from their normal environment for the purpose of education or leisure, either within their country or abroad. When ar ...

s to

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...

locations. Guthrie illustrated the children's book titled ''Cooking Fun'' (1960), which was written by her sister, Barbara Guthrie McDonald. She illustrated another book by her sister, a cookbook titled ''Casserole Cooking Fun''. She illustrated various children's books, including ''Golly and the Gulls'' (1962), written by Ruth Harnden, and ''A Sight of Everything'' (1963), written by Dorothea J. Snow. She also illustrated covers for

Child Life Magazine 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 ''child ...

, and created illustrations for

arithmetic Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of roots, and taking logarithms. ...

books, song books and holiday cookbooks. She specifically created holiday cookbooks for the Peter Pauper Press. In 1964, the book ''The High Pasture'', written by Ruth P. Harnden and illustrated by Guthrie, won the Children's Book Committee Award from

Bank Street College Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 ful ...

. In 1969, Guthrie was a

first grade First grade (also 1st Grade or Grade 1) is the first year of formal or compulsory education. It is the first year of elementary school, and the first school year after kindergarten. Children in first grade are usually 6–7 years old. Examples ...

teacher in

Claverack, New York Claverack is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 6,058 at the 2020 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 Census Results, Claverack town, Columbia County, New York QuickFacts https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/claverackt ...

. Guthrie lived with author Ruth Harnden in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

near the shore of the

Billington Sea Billington Sea (also Billington's Sea) is a warm water pond located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Morton Park lies on the pond's northern shore. The pond is fed by groundwater and cranberry bog outlets. The average depth is seven feet and the max ...

. Guthrie died on July 6, 2012.

Works

* ''Recipes Mothers Used to Make'' (c. 1952), compiled by

Edna Beilenson Edna Rudolph Beilenson (June 16, 1909 – February 28, 1981) was an American typographer, fine press printer, typesetter, book designer, cook book author, publisher, and co-proprietor (with her husband, Peter Beilenson) of the Peter Pauper Press ...

* ''Book of Christmas Carols'' (c. 1952) * ''The Holiday Cook Book'' and ''The Holiday Drink Book'' (c. 1952) * ''Holiday Cookies'' (c. 1956), compiled by Edna Beilenson * ''Benjamin Lucky,'' written by Miriam E. Mason. Macmillan, 1956. * ''Freddy'', written by Miriam E. Mason. Macmillan, 1957. *
A Small Farm for Andy
'' written by Miriam E. Mason. Macmillan, 1958. * ''Cooking Fun'' (1960), written by Barbara Guthrie McDonald * ''Jim and His Monkey'' (c. 1960), written by Bianca Bradbury * ''Aesop with a Smile'' (c. 1960), written by Ernestine Cobern Beyer * ''Golly and the Gulls'' (1962), written by Ruth Harnden * ''The Story of Little Big'' (1962), written by Ernestine Cobern Beyer * ''A Sight of Everything'' (1963), written by Dorothea J. Snow * ''The High Pasture'' (c. 1964), written by Ruth Harnden * ''Make Room for Rags'' (c. 1965), written by

Laura Bannon Laura Bannon (July 2, 1894 – December 14, 1963) was an American teacher and artist, illustrator and author of children's literature. Biography Laura Bannon was born in July 2, 1894 in Acme, Michigan, the daughter of James William Bannon an ...

* ''Casserole Cooking Fun'' (c. 1967), written by Barbara Guthrie McDonald * ''Animals from A to Z'' (c. 1969), written and illustrated by Vee Guthrie

References

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guthrie, Vee American children's book illustrators American women children's book illustrators 1920 births 2012 deaths American women illustrators WAVES personnel Middlebury College alumni Rhode Island School of Design alumni 21st-century American women