Marcia Brown, Class of '40, (1918-2015)

Marcia Brown, New York State College for Teachers Class of 1940, was an internationally renowned illustrator and author of children's books. She was a three-time winner of the Caldecott Medal, the American Library Association's highest award for excellence in children's'picture-book illustrations, for three of her books: Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper (1954); Once a Mouse (1961); and Shadow (1982), and six more of her books are Caldecott Honor Books.</img>

Brown produced over 30 children's books during her career and many titles have been reprinted in other languages, including Afrikaans, German, Japanese, Spanish and Xhosa-Bantu. Critics marveled at Brown's use of spare texts, strong images and the vitality reflected in the use of a variety of media ranging from her trademark woodcuts to pen and ink and gouache. Her characters -- lively, humorous and full of magic and enchantment -- included handsome princes, sly cats, evil sorcerers, flying elephants and snow queens. Ms Brown died on April 28th 2015 in her home in Laguna Hill, California.

Marcia Brown's collection of original illustrations and artwork are available in the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives. For more information, see digital exhibit and a video of Marcia Brown accepting an honorary doctorate from the University at Albany.

May 6th, 2015 New York Times Obituary