Will and Nicolas III

I can never get enough of Will and Nicolas (Will Lipkind and Nicolas Mordvinoff) books they are always a delight. Here is 'The Little Tiny Rooster', published in 1960. Nicolas Mordvinoff's illustrations just fill me with joy and it breaks my heart that he had such a tragic life, leaving behind such beauty.

Will and Nicolas III

A wonderful three colour book; 'Finders Keepers' written by William Lipkind and illustrated by Nicholas Mordvinoff. published in 1954.

Will and Nicolas II

Images from 'The Two Reds' 1950, by Nicolas Mordvinoff and William Lipkind.  This book is the story of the friendship between a lonely city boy and a neighborhood cat, wonderfully illustrated in startling red yellow and black. The book created lots of controversy when it was published and released into an America in the grips of McCarthyism because of its title and Russian illustrator. It was also recognised in 1951 as a Caldecott Honor book for it's superb illustration.

Will and Nicolas I

These illustrations are from 'The Christmas Bunny' by Will and Nicolas 1953. William Lipkind (1904-1974) was an anthropologist, and Nicolas Mordvinoff (1912-1973), a Russian artist born in St Petersburg who trained in Paris under  Fernand Leger and Amedee Ozenfant. In the 1930's he lived in the French Pacific island of Mangareva before settling in New York in 1946. Nicolas and William met through Williams wife and shortly after began creating children's books together.
In this Christmas story, the illustrations are joyously bright the pictures are full of a gentle kindness that reminds me of Roger Duvoisin's works.

Sometimes researching the lives of artists in this blog is heartbreaking, and this is one of those times, as Nicolas committed suicide in 1973 at 61 years of age leaving his wife and two sons. So sad that someone who created such joy and happiness through his work should die in such a tragic way.