Emil Weiss facts for kids

Emil Weiss (born August 14, 1896 – died January 6, 1965) was a talented Czech illustrator. He was known for his unique drawing style and for capturing important moments and people in history through his art.

The Life of Emil Weiss

Early Life and Art Style

Emil Weiss was born in Moravia, which was then part of Austria-Hungary. He studied to become an architect in Vienna. In the 1920s, he worked in Prague as a cartoonist for newspapers. He also created art for advertisements.

His posters are still shown at the Prague Museum of Applied Arts. You can even find copies of his art on posters and matchbox covers. Emil Weiss also worked as an architect. His art style was called Art Deco. This style used strong geometric shapes, rounded corners, and fine materials.

Finding Safety and New Work

Life changed for Emil Weiss when the Great Depression hit and then when Hitler came to power. In 1938, he moved to Britain to find safety. At first, he could not get a work permit. But when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, his status changed to a refugee.

It was hard for him to find work in Britain. His English was not perfect, and his European drawing style was different. So, in 1943, he had to start over. He took many different jobs. He made posters for the war effort and illustrations for Czech newspapers. He also drew portraits for the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

An Artist-Reporter's Adventures

Emil Weiss then met Rose Fyleman, who wrote children's books. She was writing a story for the children's page of the Christian Science Monitor newspaper in Boston. Emil Weiss illustrated her weekly stories. This led him to Saville Davis, who was the Monitor's London reporter.

Davis hired Emil Weiss as their London visual reporter. This meant he drew pictures of events as they happened. He covered big international meetings, like the 1946 conference where the United Nations was created. In 1948, he moved to the United States. There, he became the Monitor's artist-reporter. He covered national events and politicians until he passed away in 1965.

One of his favorite places to visit was the UN building in New York. People often thought he was a diplomat because of his polite manners, bow tie, and hat. This helped him blend in. He would quickly draw secret notes on any paper he found. He was amazing at capturing how important people looked and acted.

He would then rush back to his studio. There, he would carefully trace his quick drawings. He used a special dry-brush ink technique on vellum paper. He would quickly write down what the drawing showed, even with some unique spelling. Then, he would send it off to the Monitor in Boston. His drawings show the fast pace of an artist working on a deadline. It was not a job that made him rich, but he loved how immediate and exciting it was. He enjoyed showing people's true selves.

Capturing History in Drawings

Emil Weiss created about a thousand drawings of famous people from around the world. These drawings show a historical look at the middle of the 20th Century. Some drawings were simple reports of what he saw. Others were a bit funny or satirical. All of them showed the unique qualities of the people he drew.

Besides his portraits, the Monitor also published many of his article illustrations. He also drew sketches from his travels, especially from Austria. Because of his work, the President of Austria gave him their Golden Badge of Honor in 1964.

Books and Family Life

Emil Weiss illustrated about 40 children's books. The original drawings are now kept at the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota Library. He illustrated the young readers’ edition of JFK’s Profiles in Courage. He also illustrated It’s like this, cat by Emily Cheney Neville, which won the Newbery Medal in 1964.

He also wrote his own books, including My Studio Sketchbook (1948). With Karla Weiss, he wrote a children's cookbook called Let's Have a Party (1946). He also wrote Slavische Märchen (1952).

Emil Weiss was a kind, funny, and trusting person. He was also a bit superstitious. For example, he believed that if you said the name of a medicine with a Latin accent, it would work better! For back pain, he suggested using a red flannel cloth. He said any other color would not work.

His wife, Karla, was a trained concert pianist. She was much more practical than Emil. She helped him do what he loved most: to draw. He almost always had a pencil in his hand. If he was holding a brush, the pencil would be in his mouth!

Emil Weiss and Karla Weiss had one son, Jan V. White. Jan became a famous magazine design consultant. He wrote "Editing By Design," which was the first book about magazine design. Jan V. White's son, Alexander W. White, also continued the family's design tradition. Alexander is an educator, typographer, and author of books on graphic design.

Emil Weiss is buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Hawthorne, New York.

Illustrations

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  Lucerna cabaret and restaurant, Poster, 1925