Ian Falconer
{{short description|American author and illustrator (1959–2023)}}
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Ian Woodward Falconer (August 25, 1959 – March 7, 2023) was an American author and illustrator of children's books as well as a designer of sets and costumes for the theater. He created 30 covers for The New Yorker and also for other publications. He wrote and illustrated the Olivia series of children's books, chronicling the adventures of a young pig, a series initially conceived as a Christmas gift for a young niece of his.{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Jennifer M. |date=December 18, 2000 |title=Flying Starts: Ian Falconer |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/53145-fall-2000-flying-starts-ian-falconer.html |access-date=October 22, 2024 |website=Publishers Weekly}}
Theater designs
Falconer was active in the world of theater design. In 1987, he assisted the artist David Hockney with the costume designs for the Los Angeles Opera's production of Richard Wagner's Tristan Und Isolde; in 1992 he assisted Hockney with the Chicago Lyric Opera's production of Puccini's Turandot.Edward Rothstein, "For a new 'Turandot,' Sets by Hockney," The New York Times, January 4, 1992. In 1992, Falconer designed the costumes (Hockney designed the sets) for The Royal Opera's production of Richard Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten at Covent Garden.John Rockwell, "The Talk of London," The New York Times, November 30, 1992.
In 1996, Falconer designed the set for The Atlantic Theater's production of The Santaland Diaries, written by David Sedaris. The theater critic for The New York Times, Ben Brantley, wrote "The cartoon cutout set by Ian Falconer looks totally chic in its monochromatic grayness."Ben Brantley, "Reluctant Elf Adrift in Macy's Yule," The New York Times, November 8, 1996.
In 1999, Falconer designed scenery and costumes for the Boston Ballet's production of Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. In the same year, he designed the sets for Scènes de Ballet. In 2001 he designed the sets and costumes for Felix Mendelssohn's Variations sérieuses. Wheeldon choreographed for both productions of the New York City Ballet.John Leland, "At Home with Ian Falconer," The New York Times, December 6, 2001. In 2002, Falconer designed the sets and costumes for Stravinsky's Jeu de Cartes, choreographed for the New York City Ballet by Peter Martins.
In 2008, Falconer designed the sets and oversaw the installation for the operetta Veronique at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Francis Carlin, a critic, noted, "Ian Falconer's clever play-off between background film and lavish sets climaxes in a stunning society ball."Francis Carlin, "Véronique, Châtelet, Paris," Financial Times, January 24, 2008. Beginning with the 2015 season, the Pacific Northwest Ballet's The Nutcracker features costumes and sets designed by Falconer.{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/books/ian-falconer-dead.html|title = Ian Falconer, Creator of Olivia, the Energetic Piglet, Dies at 63|last = Genzlinger|first = Neil|newspaper = The New York Times|date = March 8, 2023|access-date = March 8, 2023|url-access = limited}}
Writing career
Ian Falconer's covers for The New Yorker caught the eye of Simon & Schuster children's book editor Anne Schwartz, who approached Falconer about the possibility of illustrating a children's book by another author.{{Cite news |last=Shaer |first=Matthew |date=2023-12-22 |title=Ian Falconer, Creator of 'Olivia', Surprised Even Himself |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/22/magazine/ian-falconer-death.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Vk4.XMg-.VvJQlwjuCKgn&smid=url-share |access-date=2024-10-28 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}} Falconer shared the manuscript for Olivia, and after Falconer took Schwartz's suggestion to cut down the manuscript, the book was published in 2000. Falconer went on to write more books in a series about Olivia.
Personal life and death
Ian Woodward Falconer was born on August 25, 1959, in Ridgefield, Connecticut, to parents Alexandra and Bruce Falconer. Falconer graduated from The Cambridge School of Weston and studied art history at New York University before transferring to the Parsons School of Design and the Otis Art Institute.
Falconer was gay."'StageStruck' Exhibit Featuring Gay and Lesbian Broadway Design Talent Begins Nov. 14" by Adam Hetrick, Playbill Magazine, November 14, 2007, http://www.playbill.com/article/stagestruck-exhibit-featuring-gay-and-lesbian-broadway-design-talent-begins-nov-14-com-145399{{Cite web |title=He's a pig success: Illustrator Ian Falconer dazzles children with his best-selling books starring Olivia the pig. - Free Online Library |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/He%27s+a+pig+success:+Illustrator+Ian+Falconer+dazzles+children+with...-a0110809188 |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com}} and according to Tom Ford, a designer and filmmaker, Falconer's boyfriends included Ford and later the artist David Hockney.{{Cite web |title=Tom Ford: Immaculate Conception |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7020492/Tom-Ford-Immaculate-Conception.html |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk|date=18 January 2010}}{{Cite web |date=2004-11-01 |title=Tom Ford, The Marquis de Sex |url=https://www.gq.com/story/tom-ford-gucci-designer-book |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=GQ}}{{Cite web |title=Filmmaker Magazine {{!}} Winter 2010: A Single Man - Interview with Direcor Tom Ford |url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/archives/issues/winter2010/a-single-man.php |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=filmmakermagazine.com|date=7 December 2012}} Ford said in interviews that he and Falconer remained good friends and decades after their breakup, Ford used Falconer's surname for the title character of A Single Man, his 2009 film (based on the Christopher Isherwood novel, in which the title character has no surname).{{Cite web |last= |title=The Visionary Tom Ford |url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/film/2009/11/09/visionary-tom-ford |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=www.advocate.com}}
In later life, Falconer lived in Rowayton, Connecticut, a village within the city of Norwalk. He died from kidney failure in Norwalk on March 7, 2023, at the age of 63.{{cite magazine |last1=Mouly |first1=Françoise |title=Remembering Ian Falconer, the New Yorker Artist and Author of the "Olivia" Books |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/remembering-ian-falconer-the-new-yorker-artist-and-author-of-the-olivia-books |access-date=8 March 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |date=7 March 2023}}
Written works
In the Olivia series:
- Olivia (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000)
- Olivia Saves the Circus (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2001)
- Olivia's Opposites (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002)
- Olivia Counts (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002)
- Olivia...and the Missing Toy (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003)
- Teatro Olivia (New York: Rizzoli Universe Promotional Books, 2004)
- Olivia Forms a Band (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006)
- Dream Big: Starring Olivia (New York: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2006)
- Olivia Helps with Christmas (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007)
- Olivia Goes to Venice (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010)
- Olivia and the Fairy Princesses (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012)
- Olivia's ABC (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014)
- Olivia the Spy (New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017)
Awards
- Caldecott Honor for Olivia, 2000
- Parents' Choice 2000, Gold Award Winner
- Nick Jr. Books, Best Book of 2001
- American Library Association, Notable Children's Books of 2001, for Olivia.
- Child's Best Book of 2001
- Los Angeles Times Best Books of 2000 & 2001
- Publishers Weekly, Best Books of 2000 & 2001
- American Library Association, Notable Children's Books of 2002, for Olivia Saves the Circus.
- BookSense Illustrated Children's Book of the Year, 2002, for Olivia Saves the Circus.
- Child Magazine's Best Children's Book Award in 2006, for Olivia Forms a Band
- Voted "Favorite Illustrator" for Olivia Helps with Christmas by over 50,000 children at the Children's Choice Book Awards, 2008
References
{{reflist|25em |refs=
Library of Congress Authorities cites for full name and date of birth Cataloging in Publication data provided in 2000 [http://lccn.loc.gov/nb2001050527]. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
}}
External links
{{Portal |Children's literature |Theatre |Visual arts}}
- [http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Ian-Falconer/20564507 Ian Falconer] at publisher Simon & Schuster
- {{LCAuth|nb2001050527|Ian Falconer|32|}}
- {{IMDb name|11437608}}
- {{discogs artist|Ian Falconer}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:20th-century American male writers
Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:American children's writers
Category:American illustrators
Category:Deaths from kidney failure in the United States
Category:LGBTQ people from Connecticut
Category:Parsons School of Design alumni
Category:Writers from Ridgefield, Connecticut
Category:Artists from Ridgefield, Connecticut
Category:People from Norwalk, Connecticut