Artist Biographies for Kids
Here comes another list of biographies (check out Author Bios, Inventor Bios and Athlete Bios) all about artists, hopefully some you might never have heard of before! These books make great inspiration for the kids who don’t stop doodling, drawing, folding paper, creating art with found material, sculpting, and so much more. I excitedly pulled this list together of lesser-known artist – you won’t find Van Gogh or Monet on this list!
And let me tell you, where I could find a lot of diversity for biographies in the science and writing fields, the picture book biographies about artists are much more diverse across time periods, geographical regions, and cultures. It was quite refreshing to see and I enjoyed seeing the wide-variety of artists that are covered by this specific niche format.
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Artist Biographies for Kids
Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas by Jeanne Walker Harvey, illustrated by Loveis Wise
Meet an incredible woman who broke down barriers throughout her whole life and is now known as one of the most preeminent painters of the twentieth century. Told from the point of view of young Alma Thomas, readers can follow along as she grows into her discovery of the life-changing power of art.
As a child in Georgia, Alma Thomas loved to spend time outside, soaking up the colors around her. And her parents filled their home with color and creativity despite the racial injustices they faced. After the family moved to Washington, DC, Alma shared her passion for art by teaching children. When she was almost seventy years old, she focused on her own artwork, inspired by nature and space travel.
In this celebration of art and the power of imagination, Jeanne Walker Harvey and Loveis Wise tell the incredible true story of Alma Thomas, the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York City and to have her work chosen for the White House collection. With her bold and vibrant abstract paintings, Alma set the world ablaze with color.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude Wrap the World: The Story of Two Groundbreaking Environmental Artists by G. Neri, illustrated by Elizabeth Haidle
When they first met, Christo was a poor refugee, and Jeanne-Claude knew nothing about art, but they were both rule-breakers and kindred spirits. Christo’s innovative creations—everyday objects wrapped to make people reconsider them—sparked Jeanne-Claude’s imagination. Thus began their lifelong partnership as husband and wife, and as artistic collaborators whose once-in-a-lifetime public installations captivated viewers and asked: What is art? Who does it belong to? And how can it help us reimagine the world around us?
Accompanied by Elizabeth Haidle’s wonderfully stylish illustrations, award-winning author G. Neri takes readers through the remarkable career of a daring duo and a fascinating discussion about the nature of art itself. Realized as an imagined conversation between Christo and Jeanne-Claude, this compelling book features back matter about the couple, an author’s note, a bibliography, and a collection of fun facts about the artists and their work.
Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois by Amy Novesky, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) was a world-renowned modern artist noted for her sculptures made of wood, steel, stone, and cast rubber. Her most famous spider sculpture, Maman, stands more than 30 feet high.
Just as spiders spin and repair their webs, Louise’s own mother was a weaver of tapestries. Louise spent her childhood in France as an apprentice to her mother before she became a tapestry artist herself. She worked with fabric throughout her career, and this biographical picture book shows how Bourgeois’s childhood experiences weaving with her loving, nurturing mother provided the inspiration for her most famous works.
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh
Funny Bones tells the story of how calaveras came to be. The amusing figures are the creation of Mexican artist José Guadalupe (Lupe) Posada (1852–1913). Lupe learned the art of printing at a young age and soon had his own shop. In a country that was not known for freedom of speech, he drew political cartoons, much to the amusement of the local population but not to the politicians.
While he continued to draw cartoons, he is best known today for his calavera drawings. They have become synonymous with Mexico’s Día de Muertos festival. Calaveras are skeletons performing all sorts of activities, both everyday and festive: dancing in the streets, playing instruments in a band, pedaling bicycles, promenading in the park, and even sweeping the sidewalks.
They are not intended to be frightening, but rather to celebrate the joy of living and provide humorous observations about people. Author and illustrator Tonatiuh relates the pivotal moments of Lupe’s life and explains the different artistic processes he used.
Juxtaposing his own artwork with Lupe’s, Tonatiuh brings to light the remarkable life and work of a man beloved by many but whose name has remained in obscurity.
Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes by Traci N. Todd, illustrated by Shannon Wright
An evocative picture book biography about the prolific life of Jackie Ormes, whose groundbreaking cartoons became some of the first empowering depictions of Black women in America!
Jackie Ormes made history. She was the first Black woman cartoonist to be nationally syndicated in the United States. She was also a journalist, fashionista, philanthropist, and activist, and she used her incredible talent and artistry to bring joy and hope to people everywhere. But in post-World War II America, Black people were still being denied their civil rights, and Jackie found herself in a dilemma: How could her art stay true to her signature “Jackie joy” while remaining honest about the inequalities Black people had been fighting?
It Began With a Page: How Gyo Kujikawa Drew the Way by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad
Equal parts picture book biography, inspiring story, and a look at racial diversity in America, It Began with a Page is a gem for any book lover, librarian, or child who dares to dream big.
Growing up in California, Gyo Fujikawa always knew that she wanted to be an artist. She was raised among strong women, including her mother and teachers, who encouraged her to fight for what she believed in. During World War II, Gyo’s family was forced to abandon everything and was taken to an internment camp in Arkansas.
Far away from home, Gyo worked as an illustrator in New York while her innocent family was imprisoned. Seeing the diversity around her and feeling pangs from her own childhood, Gyo became determined to show all types of children in the pages of her books. There had to be a world where they saw themselves represented.
Gyo’s book Babies was initially rejected by her publisher, but after she insisted, they finally relented, and Babies went on to sell almost two million copies. Gyo’s books paved the way for publishers, teachers, and readers to see what we can be when we welcome others into our world.
A Life Made By Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa by Andrea D’Aquino
Ruth Asawa (1926-2013) was an influential and award-winning Japanese American sculptor and devoted activist who advocated tirelessly for arts education. A Life Made by Hand tells the story of this pioneering artist whose work is collected in major museums around the world.
Inspired by the world around her, Asawa saw beauty in the ordinary: the webs of spiders, wings of insects, and drops of water found in the garden on the farm where she spent her childhood. She studied at the historic Black Mountain College, an unusual school filled with brilliant thinkers like herself. “An artist,” she said, “is an ordinary person who can take ordinary things and make them special.”
Andrea D’Aquino’s lush collages and engaging text celebrate Asawa’s remarkable career, and collectively tell a story that will appeal to young readers and art lovers, and inspire them to, just as Ruth Asawa did, look closely at the world and create art with whatever is at hand.
Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art by J. H. Shapiro, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
This uplifting picture book biography about community-based Detroit artist Tyree Guyton introduces the use of recycled items in art and how one person can make a big difference in the lives of young people.
Tyree Guyton, an urban environmental artist, loved his childhood home–that’s where his grandpa Sam taught him to “paint the world.” So he wanted to wake people up… to make them see Detroit’s crumbling communities. Paintbrush in hand, Tyree cast his artistic spell, transforming everyday junk into magic trash. Soon local kids and families joined Tyree in rebuilding their neighborhood, discovering the healing power of art along the way.The story spans from Tyree’s childhood in 1950s Detroit to his early efforts to heal his community through art and his creation of the Heidelberg Project–an interactive scultupre park–in the 1980s. Tyree’s awards include Michigan Artist of the Year and International Artist.
Magic Trash offers strong themes of working together, the power of art, and the importance of inspiring community–especially kids–to affect action. The Heidelberg Project is internationally recognized for providing arts education to children and adults and for the ongoing development of several houses on Heidelberg Street. Not only does the Heidelberg Project prove that when a community works together it can rebuild itself, but it also addresses the issues of recycling, environmentalism, and community on a global level.
Pocket Full of Colors: The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire by Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville, illustrated by Brigette Barrager
Mary Blair lived her life in color: vivid, wild color.
From her imaginative childhood to her career as an illustrator, designer, and animator for Walt Disney Studios, Mary wouldn’t play by the rules. At a time when studios wanted to hire men and think in black and white, Mary painted twinkling emerald skies, peach giraffes with tangerine spots, and magenta horses that could fly.
She painted her world.
Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist by Julie Leung, illustrated by Chris Sasaki
Before he became an artist named Tyrus Wong, he was a boy named Wong Geng Yeo. He traveled across a vast ocean from China to America with only a suitcase and a few papers. Not papers for drawing–which he loved to do–but immigration papers to start a new life. Once in America, Tyrus seized every opportunity to make art, eventually enrolling at an art institute in Los Angeles. Working as a janitor at night, his mop twirled like a paintbrush in his hands. Eventually, he was given the opportunity of a lifetime–and using sparse brushstrokes and soft watercolors, Tyrus created the iconic backgrounds of Bambi.
The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Claire A. Nivola
After the partition of India in 1947, Nek Chand Saini settled in the city of Chandigarh, with nothing but stories brought from his homeland. Dismayed at his stark new surroundings, Nek began collecting river rocks, broken glass, and cracked water pots found on the roadside. He cleared a section of jungle and for seven years he stockpiled odds and ends. They were castoffs and rubbish to everyone else, but to Nek, they were treasures. He began to build a labyrinth of curving paths, mosaics, and repeating patterns: his very own tribute to the winding village of his youth, a hidden land of stories.
Nek kept his kingdom secret for fifteen years, until a government crew stumbled upon it and sought to destroy it. But local fans agreed in awe: the Rock Garden had to be protected. Author Barb Rosenstock introduces readers to the outsider artist’s stunning creation, while Claire A. Nivola’s illustrations bring to life the land’s natural beauty and the surreal world Nek coaxed from his wild landscape.
A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
As a child in the late 1800s, Horace Pippin loved to draw: He loved the feel of the charcoal as it slid across the floor. He loved looking at something in the room and making it come alive again in front of him. He drew pictures for his sisters, his classmates, his co-workers.
Even during W.W.I, Horace filled his notebooks with drawings from the trenches . . . until he was shot. Upon his return home, Horace couldn’t lift his right arm, and couldn’t make any art. Slowly, with lots of practice, he regained use of his arm, until once again, he was able to paint–and paint, and paint! Soon, people—including the famous painter N. C. Wyeth—started noticing Horace’s art, and before long, his paintings were displayed in galleries and museums across the country.
A Storm of Horses: The Story of Artist Rosa Bonheur by Ruth Sanderson
In a stunning ode to underrepresented women everywhere, award-winning illustrator Ruth Sanderson tells the untold story of French artist Rosa Bonheur in this picture book biography.
Rosa Bonheur was born in 1822 in France at a time when young women had limited options beyond being a wife and mother. But Rosa wouldn’t stand for this. She wore pants, rode horses astride, and often broke society’s rules. She wanted to be a famous painter just like her father. Female artists at the time were encouraged to paint domestic scenes of children and family, but Rosa was determined to capture the unbridled wild beauty of horses.
Her masterpiece The Horse Fair was eight feet high and sixteen feet wide. Rosa went on to become the most celebrated artist of her time with paintings purchased by art collectors, museums, and galleries around the world. With the decline in popularity of realistic painting, Rosa’s trailblazing story was almost forgotten.
Revel at the bravery and fortitude of young Rosa as you take in Ruth Sanderson’s immaculate rendition of her life and artistry.
Unbound: The Life + Art of Judith Scott by Joyce Scott and Brie Spangler, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Judith Scott was born with Down syndrome. She was deaf, and never learned to speak. She was also a talented artist. Judith was institutionalized until her sister Joyce reunited with her and enrolled her in an art class. Judith went on to become an artist of renown with her work displayed in museums and galleries around the world.
Poignantly told by Joyce Scott in collaboration with Brie Spangler and Melissa Sweet and beautifully illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist, Melissa Sweet, Unbound is inspiring and warm, showing us that we can soar beyond our perceived limitations and accomplish something extraordinary.
Yayoi Kusama Covered Everything in Dots and Wasn’t Sorry by Fausto Gilberti
Yayoi Kusama covers her paintings in hundreds and hundreds of dots. Her dots come off her canvases to cover dresses, tables, walls, and more!
She creates mirrored rooms and fills them with glittering balls and lights, until there is an infinity of dots – just like in her paintings. Fausto Gilberti brings movement, life, and whimsy to the true life story of one of the most important contemporary Japanese artists of our time – an artist who is still dazzling museum- and gallery-goers around the globe today.
