From Caldecott to Coretta Scott:
Jerry Pinkney 1939-2021
Jerry Pinkney illustrated over one hundred titles and was the first solo Black artist to win the prestigious Caldecott Medal for picture book illustration. He also received five Caldecott Honors, five Coretta Scott King Awards, four Coretta Scott King Honors, five New York Times Best Illustrated Awards, and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. In 2016 he won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for a substantial and lasting contribution to children’s literature as well as the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for lifetime achievement.
Pinkney was also a United States nominee for the 1997 Hans Christian Andersen Illustration Medal. The Society of Illustrators in New York has presented him with four gold medals, four silver medals, and their Original Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2011 he was elected into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. In 2016 he won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for a substantial and lasting contribution to children’s literature as well as the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for lifetime achievement. Mr. Pinkney is the first illustrator to be honored with a full-scale retrospective at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Jerry Pinkney was a mentor to countless younger illustrators, including his own son, Brian, also featured in this exhibition.