Zhenya Gay
Zhenya Gay (born Eleanor Byrnes) (1906–1978) was an American author and illustrator.
Early life and education[]
She was born in 1906 in Norwood, Massachusetts.[1] She attended Columbia University.[1]
Career[]
Her first artistic jobs as a freelancer were creating movie posters, newspaper advertisements, and costume designs for theater productions.[1]
Selected works[]
- Pancho and His Burro, 1930[1]
- The Shire Colt, 1931[2]
- Sakimura, 1936[3]
- Whistlers' Van, 1937
- The ballad of Reading Gaol / by Oscar Wilde, 1937[4]
- Manuelito of Costa Rica, 1940[2]
- Look!, 1952[2]
- Jingle Jangle Story, 1953[1]
- Wonderful Things, 1954[1]
- The Dear Friends, 1959[1]
- I'm Tired of Lions, 1961[1]
- Who's Afraid?, 1965[2]
Legacy[]
In addition to her book illustrations, Gay also created standalone artworks, including aquatints, lithographs, and etchings. Her works are held in the permanent collections of several museums, including the University of Michigan Museum of Art,[5][6] the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco,[7] and the Seattle Art Museum.[8]
The Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota holds much of her work,[1] as does the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi.[1]
Personal life[]
She spent several years traveling and living in Europe, Mexico, and Central America.[2] In 1954, she left New York City for the Catskill Mountains.[1]
Gay was in a relationship with Jan Gay (born Helen Reitman, daughter of Ben Reitman), a children's book writer.[9]
Gay died on August 3, 1978.[1]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Zhenya Gay Papers". www.lib.usm.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ a b c d e "Zhenya Gay". Britannica Kids. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ Wilde, Oscar; Rascoe, Burton; Gay, Zhenya; Fass, John S; Limited Editions Club; Harbor Press; Limited Editions Club; Limited Editions Club Collection (Library of Congress) (1937). The ballad of Reading Gaol. OCLC 1669373.
- ^ "Exchange: Nude". exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Exchange: Cat". exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Nude reclining - Zhenya Gay". FAMSF Search the Collections. 2015-05-08. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Cat" Check
|url=value (help). localhost. Retrieved 2021-03-12. - ^ Ryan, Hugh (2019-03-05). When Brooklyn Was Queer: A History. St. Martin's Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-250-16991-4.
 | This article about an American illustrator is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
 | This article about an American writer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 20th-century American women writers
- 20th-century American women artists
- Artists from Massachusetts
- American women illustrators
- American children's writers
- Writers from Massachusetts
- People from Norwood, Massachusetts
- 1906 births
- 1978 deaths
- Women children's writers
- American illustrator stubs
- American writer stubs