Wilfrid S. Bronson
{{short description|American painter}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Wilfrid S. Bronson
| honorific_prefix =
| honorific_suffix =
| image = File:Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson (1894-1985) and Sonia Joseph Bronson (4730112178).jpg
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| caption = Wilfrid S. Bronson and his wife, Sonia Joseph Bronson
| native_name =
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| pseudonym =
| birth_name = Wilfrid Swancourt Branson
| birth_date = {{birth date|1894|10|24}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois
| death_date = {{death date and age|1985|04|23|1894|10|24}}
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| occupation = Children's books author
| nationality = American
| notableworks =
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| years_active = 1910s-1980s
| website =
}}
Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson (October 24, 1894 – April 23, 1985) was an American natural history artist and a "prolific writer and illustrator of children's books on various aspects of animal life".{{cite book|page=73|url=http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/curatorship/pdf/3.pdf|title=Museum curatorship in the National Park Service, 1904-1982|last=Lewis|first=Ralph H|date=1993}}
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bronson attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.{{cite web|last1=Larsen|first1=Nancy|title=Wilfrid S. Bronson Paper|url=http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/CLRC-1824.xml|website=umn.edu|publisher=University of Minnesotas Libraries|access-date=30 August 2015}}
Following his service in the U.S. Army during the first World War, he worked as a mural painter's assistant in several studios in New York City. In the 1930s and 40s he painted murals for the Works Progress Administration.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} Bronson accompanied several scientific marine expeditions as a staff artist, resulting in the creation of numerous nature books for children. In 1930 he was part of an expedition to the Galapagos to gather specimens for the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.{{cite news|title=Will Gather Galapagos Plants for Brooklyn Botanic Garden|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/57577926/|access-date=30 August 2015|publisher=Brooklyn Eagle|date=20 March 1930}} In the 1920s he participated in expeditions led by Harry Payne Bingham to study and bring specimens and illustrations of marine life to the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University, which holds many illustrations Bronson made on shipboard to capture the color and form of marine specimens in the era before color photography.{{cite news|title=Denizens of Ocean on View in Museum|work=New York Times|date=Jun 24, 1928}}{{cite web|title=Harry Payne Bingham|url=http://peabody.yale.edu/collections/archives/biography/harry-payne-bingham|website=peabody.yale.edu|publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History|access-date=30 August 2015}}{{cite archive |first= |last= |item= |type= |date= |series= |file= |box= |collection=Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson Archives |repository=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History Repository |institution=Yale University |location= |collection-url=https://hdl.handle.net/https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/ypm.ypmar.000051}}
Books
- Fingerfins: The Tale of a Sargasso Fish, 1930 - "a little book of perfect accuracy and excellent illustrations, ... Every child who can read English should say, "Thank you, Mr. Bronson!" for this delightful story."{{Cite journal| author=Marion Ponsonby |title=The Children's Bookshop | journal=The Saturday Review of Literature | date=June 21, 1930 | page=1146 |publisher=Time Inc }}
- Water People, 1936, Wise Parslow{{cite news|title=Books for Spring and Summer (book review)|publisher=Christian Science Monitor|date=25 May 1936}}
- Children of the Sea, 1939, An enchanting tale of a dolphin and a boy with Bronson's beautiful illustrations and packed with facts from his knowledge of sea life. 164 pages, Harcourt Brace and Company
- Stooping Hawk and Stranded Whale: Sons of Liberty, 1942 - "This is an exciting story about a people who have been forgotten, but who still live free and untamed as they did four hundred years ago."{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/wilfrid-s-bronson-2/stooping-hawk-and-stranded-whale-sons-of-libert/ |website=www.kirkusreviews.com |title=Stooping Hawk and Stranded Whale: Sons of Liberty |publisher=Kirkus Media LLC |access-date=11 September 2015 }}
- "the Grasshopper Book", 1943, Harcourt, Brace & Co., New York
- Hooker's Holiday, 1944 {{cite news|title=Children's Picture Bookshelf: Hooker's Holiday|work=New York Times|date=29 October 1944}}
- Turtles, 1945 - "Oh dear, Wilfred Bronson has done some such nice nature books and this is such a disappointment ... Here's a man who knows what can and should be done and owes it to his market to sustain a higher level of intelligent, scientific presentation."{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/wilfred-b-bronson/turtles-2/ | website=www.kirkusreviews.com |title=Turtles |publisher=Kirkus Media LLC |access-date=11 September 2015 }}
- Coyotes, 1946 -
- Pinto's Journey 1948, Julian Messner ({{ISBN|0-86534-557-0}}) - "Good material both in pictures and story for a unit onIndians or the natural life of New Mexico. Could be used in remedial reading."{{Cite journal| author=Alice R. Brooks | title=The Book World | journal=Center for Instructional Materials Service Bulletin | volume=I | issue=6 | date=15 May 1948 | page=1 |publisher=University of Chicago |url=https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/12368/bulletincenterchv00001i00006_opt.pdf?sequence=2 |access-date=11 September 2015}}
- Starlings, 1948 - "This is an engaging book that manages to put across a considerable amount of information about birds, with humor and affection throughout."{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/wilfred-s-bronson/starlings/ | website=www.kirkusreviews.com |title=Starlings |publisher=Kirkus Media LLC |access-date=11 September 2015 }} "Although Starlings are the chief dramatis personae, it is a good introduction to bird life in general ... Bronson's illustrations are teaching materials in themselves and coupled with his readable style, the result is a very satisfactory book."
- Cats, 1950 - "For any household which includes a cat, Wilfred S. Bronson's Cats is indeispensable reading for the whole family. Here is another book which gains my highest recommendation."{{Cite journal| author=John F Frederick | title=Speaking of Books | journal=The Rotarian | volume=LXXVII | issue= 5 | date=November 1950 |pages=38, 39 | publisher=Rotary International |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0YEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39 |access-date=11 September 2015}}
- Freedom and Plenty: ours to save, 1953 - "An experienced illustrator and writer of non-fiction for this age group gives a splendidly organized and suggestive tally of conservation in our country."{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/wilfrid-s-bronson/freedom-and-plenty/ | website=www.kirkusreviews.com |title=Freedom and Plenty |publisher=Kirkus Media LLC |access-date=11 September 2015 }}
- Beetles, 1963 - "The present book is of this same high standard, with complete information based on personal observation as well as a familiarity with the work of entomologists and presented in a tone of conversational informality. ... 40 Half-tone drawings by the author will complete a book that is high in quality all the way."{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/wilfrid-s-bronson-3/beetles-2/ |website=www.kirkusreviews.com |title=Beetles |publisher=Kirkus Media LLC |access-date=11 September 2015 }}
- Dogs: Best Breeds for Young People, 1969 - "Better titled and more clearly organized, it might be the canine Dr. Spock; as is, its common sense is submerged (and for some people may be spoiled by the rather coarse cartoons)."{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/wilfrid-a-bronson/dogs-best-breeds-for-young-people/ |website=www.kirkusreviews.com |title=Dogs: Best Breeds for Young People |publisher=Kirkus Media LLC |access-date=11 September 2015 }}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- Wilfrid S. Bronson papers, University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections [http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/CLRC-1824.xml Archives & Special Collections · University of Minnesota Libraries]
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Category:American children's book illustrators
Category:American children's writers
Category:20th-century American painters
Category:American male painters