Tomi Ungerer
Tomi (Jean-Thomas) Ungerer (born
November 28, 1931) in Strasbourg is a French illustrator best known
for his erotic and political illustrations as well as children's
books.
Tomi Ungerer was born in Strasbourg
in Alsace. His mother Alice moved to Logelbach, near Colmar, after
the death of Tomi's father, Theodore -- an artist, engineer, and
astronomical clock manufacturer -- in 1936. Ungerer also lived
through the German occupation of Alsace, causing his house to be
requisitioned by the army of Nazi Germany.
Ungerer moved to United States in
1956. The following year, Ungerer published his first children's
book for Harper & Row, The Mellops Go Flying. He also did
illustration work for The New York Times and for television during
this time, and began to create posters denouncing the Vietnam War.
After Allumette; A Fable, with Due
Respect to Hans Christian Andersen, the Grimm Brothers, and the
Honorable Ambrose Bierce in 1974, Ungerer ceased writing children's
books, focusing instead on adult-level books, many of which focused
on sexuality. He eventually returned to children's literature with
Flix, 1998.
He currently lives on the Mizen
Peninsula in Ireland, where he and his wife moved in 1976.
In 1998, Tomi Ungerer was awarded
the Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration.
In 2007, his hometown dedicated him
a museum, the Musée Tomi Ungerer - centre international de
l'illustration.
