Crockett Johnson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Crockett Johnson |
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| Born | David Johnson Leisk October 20, 1906 New York City, United States |
| Died | July 11, 1975 (aged 68) |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist |
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Notable works
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Barnaby, Harold and the Purple Crayon |
Crockett Johnson (born David Johnson Leisk; October 20, 1906 – July 11, 1975) was a famous American cartoonist and children's book illustrator. He is best known for creating the popular comic strip Barnaby and the beloved Harold series of books. The first book in this series was Harold and the Purple Crayon.
Crockett Johnson also created many paintings about mathematics and physics. Over one hundred of these paintings are now kept at the National Museum of American History.
Contents
About Crockett Johnson's Life
Crockett Johnson was born in New York City. He grew up in Corona, Queens, a part of New York. He went to PS 16 and Newtown High School. Later, he studied art at Cooper Union in 1924 and at New York University in 1925.
He chose the name Crockett Johnson because his real name, David Johnson Leisk, was hard for people to say. "Crockett" was his childhood nickname.
Early Career and Famous Works
In the late 1920s, Johnson worked as an art editor for several magazines published by McGraw-Hill. During the Great Depression, he became very interested in social issues and joined a writers' union.
In 1934, he started drawing cartoons for a newspaper called New Masses. He even became the art editor for this paper and helped redesign its look. He left in 1940 to draw a comic strip for Collier's magazine.
In 1942, he created the comic strip Barnaby. This strip became very famous and was published in the newspaper PM. His well-known children's book, Harold and the Purple Crayon, was published in 1955.
Crockett Johnson passed away in 1975.
Crockett Johnson's Children's Books
Crockett Johnson wrote many children's books. He also worked with his wife, Ruth Krauss, on four books. These books include:
- The Carrot Seed
- How to Make an Earthquake
- Is This You?
- The Happy Egg
Some of his Harold books, like Harold and the Purple Crayon, Harold's Fairy Tale, and A Picture for Harold's Room, were even made into animation by Gene Deitch.
Mathematical Art by Crockett Johnson
- Further information: Mathematics and art
From 1965 until he died in 1975, Crockett Johnson created over 100 paintings. These artworks were inspired by geometry and mathematical ideas. He painted layers of geometric shapes based on famous math theorems and diagrams. He found ideas in books like The World of Mathematics by James R. Newman. Later, he even used his own mathematical ideas to create art.
Most of Johnson's abstract paintings were made with house paint on large pieces of masonite. He wanted his paintings to be different from other modern art. He explained that his art was based on the actual mathematics of geometry, not just shapes used for decoration or emotion.
Selected Works by Crockett Johnson
Crockett Johnson created many books and comic strips. Here are some of his notable works:
- Barnaby (comic strip, started 1943)
- Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955)
- Harold's Fairy Tale (Further Adventures with the Purple Crayon) (1956)
- Harold's Trip to the Sky (1957)
- Harold at the North Pole (1958)
- A Picture for Harold's Room (1960)
- Harold's ABC (1963)
Many of his Barnaby comic strips have been collected and published in book form over the years.
See also
In Spanish: Crockett Johnson para niños
