02/25/2022
One of our great American treasures is gone: acclaimed artist, author, illustrator, poet, and beloved Maine resident Ashley Bryan died Feb. 4 at the home of a niece in Houston. He was 98.
Born and raised in New York City, he studied at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art before being drafted into the Army in 1943 and spending the rest of World War II in Europe.
Bryan painted beautiful pictures. He made amazing hand puppets out of found objects and stained-glass windows out of beach glass and paper mache. He was known primarily as an author and illustrator of children’s books. But that isn’t what he started out wanting to do, according to one of his closest friends, Islesford neighbor and fellow artist Henry Isaacs.
“He fell into that because he wasn’t allowed to illustrate adult books; he got pigeonholed by the white publishers to become a children’s book illustrator,” Isaacs said. “Of course, he did wonderful work and fell in love with it, but that wasn’t what he had planned to do. His intention was to be a painter, an artist.”
Bryan created more than 70 children’s books over six decades, all published by the Children’s Publishing Division of Simon & Shuster. Following his death, the publisher issued this tribute: “An early, quiet and potent force in bringing children of color and issues of racial diversity into the canon of children’s literature, he was committed to opening the eyes of children of all backgrounds to a wide range of themes through poetry, folktales, spirituals and biblical narratives.”
Bryan’s longtime editor, Caitlyn Dlouhy, said, “The gifts Ashley gave us through his art, his poetry, his books, his endless encouragement to relish the moment are forever bright lights in our world. But his innate, unwavering belief in the beauty of everything, the value of everything that he instilled in us all is truly immeasurable.”
In 1992 Bryan published an illustrated book of poetry for children and adults titled “Sing to the Sun: Poems and Pictures.” Publishers Weekly said of it, “Bryan elegantly and powerfully celebrates life – the sadness of leaving, the joy to be found in nature, the pride of family. He artfully blends the traditions of African American culture with those of Western art.”
Among Bryan’s most well-known books are “Beautiful Blackbird” and “Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves. Their Lives and Dreams,” which received a Newbery Honor.
Another of his most lauded books is a beautifully illustrated memoir published in 2019 titled “Infinite Hope: A Black Artist’s Journey from World War II to Peace,” which described his experiences in the segregated Army. In addition to the horrors of war, Black American soldiers suffered the humiliating brutality of racism. Enemy POWs were sometimes accorded greater dignity and respect.
Through it all, Bryan was sustained by his art. He spent every spare moment making sketches.
“I had to draw,” he wrote. “It was the only way to keep my humanity.”
Taken from his obituary in the Mount Desert Islander.
