Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaires
After the publications of Ola in 1932 the work of Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire has needed no introduction--their beautiful picture books have delighted countless children ever since.
Ingri Mortenson and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire met in Munich, where both were studying art. Ingri had grown up in Norway; Edgar, the son of a noted Italian painter, was born in Switzerland and had lived in Paris and Florence. Shortly after thier marriage they moved to this counrty and began to creat the beautiful children's books for which they becam famous, including the 1939 Caldecott winnter--Abraham Lincoln.
These thoughts are continued on 'Beutiful Feet Books" Web Site:
Their books were known for their
vivid lasting color because of the pain-staking process of stone
lithography which they used for all of their American history
biographies. This was an old world craft of which they were both expert
and involved actually tracing their images on large slabs of Bavarian
limestone. Throughout their long careers, Ingri and Edgar worked as a
team on both art and text. Their research took them to the actual places
with which their biographies had to do, including the countries of Italy,
Portugal and Spain, when they were researching for Columbus, the hills
of Virginia while they researched Washington, and the wilds of
Kentucky and Illinois for Abraham Lincoln. The fact that they spoke 5
languages fluently served them well in their European travels and while
they researched original documents. Since their deaths in the 1980's,
Ingri and Edgar's books and work have been kept alive by their two
sons, Ola and Nils.
Other Books: