Virginia Lee Burton Collection
Scope and Contents
The bulk of the collection consists of original watercolor illustrations for the children's book The Little House, written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton. The collection also contains tempera studies for Life Story, two small watercolor pieces of Maybelle the Cable Car, linoleum printed Christmas cards, a print of the art from the endpapers of The Emperor's New Clothes, and one oversize textile fabric with a linoleum print design designed by Burton as part of the Folly Cove Designers collective.
Dates
- circa 1942-1962
Creator
- Burton, Virginia Lee, 1909-1968 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
Virginia Lee Burton was born August 30, 1909 in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. She studied at the California School of Fine Arts and the Boston Museum School. In the 1930s, Virginia Lee Burton began writing and illustrating children's picture books, as well as illustrating the works of other authors. Her first book, Choo Choo: The Story of a Little Engine Who Ran Away, was published in 1937. Her other known works include Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and Katy and the Big Snow. In 1942 she published The Little House, which was awarded a Caldecott Medal in 1943. Virginia Lee Burton continued to write and illustrate picture books throughout the 1950s and 1960s, until her death on October 15, 1968. Burton was also founder of the Folly Cove Designers, a textile collective in Cape Ann, MA which created block-printed fabric designs.
Extent
.5 Cubic Feet (1 flat box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Virginia Lee Burton Collection contains the original watercolor illustrations for The Little House, as well as some additional items of art and one printed textile.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Little House art was donated by Virginia Lee Burton's sons, Aristides and Michael Demetrios.
- Authors, American -- 20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Children's literature -- Illustrations Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Children's literature, American Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Children's stories, American Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Christmas cards Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- City and town life -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Dwellings -- Juvenile fiction Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Illustration of books -- 20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Illustrators -- United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Linocuts (prints) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Natural history -- Juvenile literature Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Picture books Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Printed textile materials Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Tempera paintings Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- watercolors (paintings) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Source
- Demetrios, Aristides (Donor, Person)
- Demetrios, Michael (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Virginia Lee Burton Collection, circa 1942-1962
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Nancy Larsen
- Date
- 2005
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- June 2018: Collection reprocessed and finding aid updated by Caitlin Marineau
Collecting Area Details
Contact The Children's Literature Research Collections Collecting Area
