David McPhail

The archive from the career of illustrator and children's book author David McPhail.

• Sold as a set of over 100 pieces.
• David McPhail (American).
• Large, comprehensive collection of notebooks, sketchbooks, original art, typescripts, mock-ups, correspondence and the like covering the career of noted children's book author and illustrator David McPhail.
• Objects were created from 1966-2022, with most being from the 1990s or later.
• A complete inventory is available upon request.

"When he strikes gold, few of his competitors can outshine him." — Ariel North

David McPhail (1940- ) is an American picture book artist and author remarkable for the breadth and consistency of his output. With over 200 books to his name and an active period that spans five decades, his work encapsulates the picture book boom of the last quarter of the 20th century, and the innovations of the 21st.

Born and raised in Newburyport, Massachusetts, he once recalled that, despite harboring a love of drawing since age 2, his passion for sports long eclipsed any artistic aims. After a series of odd jobs, he enrolled in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston when he was 23, and published his first picture book in 1971. For the first decade of his career, he continued to entertain dreams of sports stardom: "[T]o support myself until the big endorsement money starts rolling in, I illustrate books," he reported (only half-jokingly) in 1978.

By the 1980s, McPhail's skill with paint and pen made him a fixture of the field. "He is a talented artist and a talented author, exhibiting unusual versatility in both roles," noted Ariel North in 1985 in the pages of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His reputation (and bibliography) continued to grow throughout the '90s (when the bulk of this archive begins), with a selection of his pig illustrations being featured in the 1993 "This Wondrous World: Children's Book Illustration in New England" exhibition.

While lamenting the lack of creativity in the so-called "message" picture books of the late '90s, the New York Times praised McPhail's talent for creating picture books that were actually for children, rather than the edification of adults. In the paper's review of McPhail's 1997 Edward And The Pirates — a picture book about the joy of reading — Natalie Babbitt observes "Mr. McPhail [...] is skillful enough to make a good story in spite of [his inclusion of a message] [...] If we want children to learn to love reading, then we have to make it a pleasure." The book would go on to be honored in the Times's Best Illustrated Books list of 1998.

Among other accolades, McPhail has earned a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor, a Children's Choice Award, a Parent's Choice Award, and a Children's Booksellers Choices Award. His art has been exhibited in museums and galleries such as the Children's Museum of New Hampshire and the Surroundings Art Gallery, and several of his books were adapted as a stage musical in 1999. Additionally, his work has been honored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Children's Book Council/International Reading Association, the School Library Journal, the Child Study Association, the Association of Booksellers for Children, Publishers Weekly, among many others. McPhail's career in the picture book field is worthy of note for both its longevity and the high quality of his work.

"Basically, my job is to do the best books I can. If it pleases me, I think someone like me will get a kick out of it. I think most artists and writers are self-centered, they live in their own little world. I know I do for much of the time."

A dense and revealing collection of materials documenting from conception to published book (completed art, publisher correspondence, mock-ups, research materials, etc.) more than 70 of McPhail's published projects over more than six decades, including more than two dozen original works of framed art, with over eighty more loose or matted. Also included are dozens of sketchbooks both related to particular projects and others that are more creatively undirected, plus notebooks outlining ideas, stories, text to be illustrated later, etc. The combination of published and unpublished art and stories, as well as correspondence with publishers, contracts, and fan mail offers valuable insight into the creative processes and activities of a career picture book creator.