William Steig

William Steig
Steig in New York City on April 12, 1944. Photograph taken by Arnold Newman.
Born	(1907-11-14)November 14, 1907 Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died	October 3, 2003(2003-10-03) (aged 95) Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Occupation	Illustrator, writer
Nationality	American
Period	1930–2003
Genres	Cartoons, Children's picture books
Notable work(s)	Sylvester and the Magic Pebble Doctor DeSoto Shrek!
Notable award(s)	Caldecott Medal 1970 National Book Award 1983 CINE Golden Eagle 1984
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Mead Steig (m. 1936–1949) Kari Homestead (m. 1950–1963) Stephanie Healey (m. 1964–1966) Jeanne Doron (m. 1968)
Children	Jeremy Steig Lucinda 'Lucy' Steig Franchechini Margit Laura Steig

William Steig (November 14, 1907 – October 3, 2003) was a prolific American cartoonist, sculptor and, later in life, an illustrator and writer of popular children's literature. Most noted for the picture books Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Abel's Island and Doctor De Soto, he was also the creator of Shrek!, who inspired the popular movie series of the same name. Steig received acclaim not only for the quality of his illustrations but for the gracefulness of his prose style. The New York Times said Steig was "triumphant in the quality of his prose."

Biography

Early life

Steig was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1907, to Polish-Jewish immigrants from Austria, both socialists. His father, Joseph Steig, was a house painter, and his mother, Laura Ebel Steig, was a seamstress who encouraged his artistic leanings. As a child, he dabbled in painting and was an avid reader of literature. Among other works, he was said to have been especially fascinated by Pinocchio. In addition to his artistic endeavors, he also did well at athletics, being a member of the collegiate All-American water polo team. He graduated from Townsend Harris High School at 15 but never completed college, though he attended three, spending two years at City College of New York, three years at the National Academy of Design and a mere five days at the Yale School of Fine Arts before dropping out of each.

Career

Steig began drawing illustrations and cartoons for The New Yorker in 1930, producing more than 2,600 drawings and 117 covers for the magazine. Steig, later, when he was 61, began writing children's books. In 1968, he wrote his first children's book. He excelled here as well, and his third book, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969), won the Caldecott Medal. He went on to write more than 30 children's books, including the Doctor DeSoto series, and he continued to write into his nineties. Among his other well-known works, the picture book Shrek! (1990) formed the basis for the Dreamworks Animation film Shrek.

In 1984, Steig's film adaptation of Doctor DeSoto directed by Michael Sporn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Also in 1984, Steig received the CINE Golden Eagle Award in Education. for the film adaptation of this book.

Personal life

Steig married four times and had three children. From 1936 to 1949, Steig was married to educator and artist Elizabeth Mead Steig (1909–1983), sister of anthropologist Margaret Mead, from whom he was later divorced. They were the parents of jazz flutist Jeremy Steig and a daughter, Lucinda. He married second wife Kari Homestead in 1950, and they had a daughter, Margit Laura. After their divorce, he was married to Stephanie Healey from 1964 to 1966. His final marriage, to Jeanne Doron, endured for the rest of his life. His brother Irwin was a journalist and painter, and his brother Henry was a writer who played the saxophone and painted. His brother Arthur was a writer and poet, who, according to Steig, read The Nation in the cradle, was telepathic and "drew as well as Picasso or Matisse." Steig died of natural causes in Boston on October 3, 2003 at the age of 95. The closing credits for Shrek 2 noted: "In memory of William Steig, 1907–2003."

Works

1939, About People 1941, How to Become Extinct by Will Cuppy, illustrated by Steig 1942, The Lonely Ones 1944, Small Fry 1945, Persistent Faces 1946, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins, illustrated by Steig 1948, Listen, Little Man! by Wilhelm Reich, illustrated by Steig 1950, The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody by Will Cuppy, illustrated by Steig 1951, The Rejected Lovers 1953, Dreams of Glory 1968, CDB! 1968, Roland the Minstrel Pig 1969, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble — NBA finalist 1969, Bad Island 1971, Amos and Boris 1972, Dominic — NBA finalist 1973, The Real Thief 1974, Farmer Palmer's Wagon Ride 1976, Abel's Island 1976, The Amazing Bone 1977, Caleb + Kate — NBA finalist 1978, Tiffky Doofky 1979, Drawings

1980, Gorky Rises 1982, Doctor De Soto — National Book Award, Picture Book 1984, CDC? 1984, Doctor De Soto Goes to Africa 1984, Ruminations 1984, Yellow & Pink 1984, Rotten Island — his most popular book[citation needed] 1985, Solomon: The Rusty Nail 1986, Brave Irene 1987, The Zabajaba Jungle 1988, Spinky Sulks 1990, Shrek! — the basis for the movie series 1992, Alpha Beta Chowder 1994, Zeke Pippin 1996, The Toy Brother 1998, A Handful of Beans: Six Fairy Tales, retold by Jeanne Steig, illustrated by William Steig 1998, Pete’s a Pizza 2000, Made for Each Other 2000, Wizzil 2001, A Gift from Zeus 2002, Potch & Polly 2003, When Everybody Wore a Hat 2003, Yellow & Pink [new format]

External links

• Official William Steig Website
• Official Caldecott Website
• From The New Yorker to Shrek: The Art of William Steig
• Obituary: William Steig 1907-2003