The City of Philadelphia is the proud home to accomplished men and women dedicated to the arts who serve our community and communities around the world by using their unique gifts and talents to enrich the lives of people of all ages and walks of life.

Artist Jerry Pinkney is one such person. Born in Philadelphia in 1939, Pinkney developed a life-long love of drawing as a child, a passion his family proudly supported.  After graduating from the commercial art program at Dobbins Vocational School, he received a full scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, now known as the University of the Arts.

He began to develop his reputation as an illustrator at the Barker-Black Studio in Boston and later established his own studio in New York.  He has illustrated over 100 children’s books, showcased artwork at eleven one-man retrospectives, and illustrated for a variety of clients such as National Geographic throughout his career.

Pinkney’s African-American heritage has been a consistently powerful influence in his work.  Many of his children’s books explore African-American folklore and themes such as slavery, racism, and perseverance.  His collaboration with author Julius Lester on John Henry, the retelling of an African-American folk ballad, earned him a Caldecott Honor Medal in 1995.  He was also commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service to design 12 stamps as part of its Black Heritage Series.

One of Pinkney’s most notable works, for which he received the 2010 Caldecott Medal, is a wordless picture book adaptation of Aesop’s classic fable The Lion and The Mouse.  Pinkney has always found the moral of this story particularly moving.  “As a child, I was inspired to see the majestic king of the jungle saved by the determination and hard work of a humble rodent. As an adult, I’ve come to appreciate how both animals are equally large at heart: the courageous mouse and the lion who must rise above his beastly nature to set his small prey free.”

Throughout his career, Pinkney has received numerous awards, including the Caldecott Medal, five Caldecott Honor Medals, five Coretta Scott King Awards, the 2016 Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, and five New York Times Best Illustrated Awards. He is also the 2016 recipient of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award presented by the American Library Association and in June of this year, was named the Norman Rockwell Museum Artist Laureate to acknowledge his accomplishments as an illustrator.