Happy 90th, Frank Newfeld! (Czech-born Canadian designer/illustrator: "Alligator Pie" by Dennis Lee, 1974)

[leno...@yahoo.com]

Born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, he moved to Canada in 1947 and went to
college in England. He lives in Oakville, Ontario.

From Contemporary Authors:
"Frank Newfeld is one of the leading illustrators in Canada and is
prominent in the field of book design. During his career he has
designed nearly five hundred books for publishing firms in Canada, the
United States, the United Kingdom, and for museums and galleries,
including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Museum of Modern Art in New
York, and the National Gallery of Canada. One of Newfeld's criteria in
illustrating children's books is to avoid violence in any form. Humor
rests just beneath the surface of his whimsical drawings, which are
regarded for their sense of warmth and color."

His awards include the Hans Christian Andersen Award honorable
mentions, 1962, for "The Princess of Tombose," and in 1975 for "Alligator Pie."

Another poetry collection by Dennis Lee and Newfeld is "Garbage Delight."


https://www.google.com/search?q=frank+newfeld+books&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifrcyjheXaAhVix1kKHasICNQQ_AUICygC&biw=1280&bih=558
(book covers)

https://www.google.com/search?q=frank+newfeld+alligator+pie&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRrZ3XheXaAhVOj1kKHXphAKEQ_AUICygC&biw=1280&bih=558
(more illustrations)

https://gdc.design/fellows/frank-newfeld-fgdc
(profile)

http://brianbusby.blogspot.com/2011/10/brilliance-of-frank-newfeld.html
(pictures from Ralph Gustafson's "Rivers Among Rocks")


http://porcupinesquill.ca/bookinfo6.php?index=226

"Over his career Frank Newfeld has designed well over 650 books for publishers in Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States. Canadian publishers include Douglas and McIntyre, Groundwood, Longmans, MacMillan, Nelson, Oxford and UofT. Authors he has worked with include Berton, Cohen, Davies, Gottlieb, Laurence, Layton, Mowat, Newman..."

http://ccl-lcj.ca/index.php/ccl-lcj/article/view/1471/4512
(LONG Q&A from 1979, in print)

http://thebibliofile.ca/frank-newfeld-800911-01-mp3
(31-minute in-depth interview from 2010)

http://canadiandesignresource.ca/features/interview/frank-newfeld-interview/
(2014 interview)

Excerpts:

Q: Tell me your process?

A: Without any doubt, the most interesting challenge is illustrating poetry for the young reader. The poet must establish an intimate relationship with the reader. Often a relationship considered totally personal by his or her reader. Part and parcel of this relationship is not just that of reader to poem, but that of reader to the artwork. The illustration’s purpose is to encourage readers to concoct personal visions of the action and the players. As far as the sample (above) you sent me is concerned, I simply drew Alligator Pie’ actors: the silver dollar, the ‘alligator’ etc. The gist of the encounter is for the reader to invent. It was a unique experience forty years ago. The publisher asked me to come in on a royalty basis, which changed the customary relationship. I had more access to the Publisher than was usual, which gave my visual contribution more weight and voice.

Q: What do you think of where illustration is now?

A: Of course, the illustrated book of both prose and poetry has vanished. The e-book was inevitable, and it is too late to cry ‘WOLF’. The worst thing, at the moment, is the problem of not being able to touch the work. You’re looking at it through a pane of glass. The next worst thing is too many cute ‘kitsch’ illustrations for young readers. I well recall a time of internationally acclaimed illustrators Brian Wildsmith (U.K.), Maurice Sendak (U.S.), James Hill (CAN.), to name just three of many superb illustrators. Their illustration never drew ‘down’ for their reader. Their art was widely loved and understood, even by the youngest readers. Lately, kid.lit books are drawing ‘down’ to young readers.

https://www.sheridancollege.ca/alumni/news/frank-newfeld-legacy-of-pushing-the-limit
("Frank Newfeld: Legacy of pushing the limit" -from one of his students)

https://www.insidehalton.com/community-story/5937704-oakville-resident-frank-newfeld-named-to-order-of-canada/
(From 2015 - "Frank Newfeld named to Order of Canada")

https://www.sheridancollege.ca/alumni/news/graduate-brenda-clark-and-her-former-instructor-frank-newfeld-receive-order-of-canada
(more on that)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Newfeld

https://vimeo.com/5274209
(37-minute video)

"One of the original judges at the first Alcuin book design competition, Frank Newfeld, book designer, illustrator, art director, and former Vice President, Publishing at McClelland & Stewart, shared some of his thoughts on illustrated books, particularly those for the younger reader. This should be of special interest to fans of Newfeld’s illustrations for Alligator Pie (poems byDennis Lee)."


WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:

(Contributor) Great Canadian Painting: A Century of Art, Canadian
Centennial Publishing, 1966.


(With William Toye; self-illustrated) Simon and the Golden Sword,
Oxford University Press, 1976.
Illustrator:


Charles Marius Barbeau, editor, The Princess of Tomboso: A Fairy-Tale
in Pictures, Oxford University Press, 1960.


Dennis Lee, Alligator Pie (poems), Macmillan (Toronto), 1974,
Houghton, 1975.


Lee, Nicholas Knock and Other People (poems) Macmillan (Toronto),
1974, Houghton, 1976.


Lee, Garbage Delight (poems), Houghton, 1977.


The Klondike Quest: A Photographic Essay, 1897-1899, McClelland and
Stewart (Toronto, Ontario), 1983.


Words Like Arrows: A Treasury of Yiddish Folk Sayings, Warner (New
York), 1986.

Peter Desbarats, The Night the City Sang, McClelland, 1977, also
published as Halibut York and More.


Lenona.