Lynd Ward
Lynd Ward (1905-1985)
Lynd Kendall Ward was an American artist and storyteller, and son of Methodist minister and prominent political organizer Harry F. Ward. He illustrated some 200 juvenile and adult books. Ward was best known for his wood engraving* and is considered one of the founders of the American graphic novel, but he also worked in watercolor, oil, brush and ink, lithography* and mezzotint.
Ward spent his childhood in Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey. When he was in the first grade, Ward discovered that his last name spelled “draw” backwards, and decided that he wanted to be an artist. He studied fine arts at Columbia Teachers’ College in New York. There he met his future wife, May McNeer, and they were married shortly after their graduation in 1926. The first year of their marriage was spent in Europe, where Ward studied printmaking and book design at the National Academy of Graphic Arts in Leipzig, Germany. While browsing in a bookstore in Leipzig, Ward came upon a book by the Belgian engraver Frans Masereel, which told a story in woodcuts. This was the spark which inspired Ward to create his first graphic novel, Gods’ Man, published in October 1929, the same week the stock market crashed. It was the first novel-length story told in wood engravings to be published in the United States. He went on to publish six graphic novels in total, of which Vertigo was the last and the most ambitious.
In addition to woodcuts, Ward also worked in watercolor, oil, brush and ink, lithography and mezzotint. Ward illustrated over a hundred children’s books, several of which were collaborations with his wife, May McNeer. Starting in 1938, Ward became a frequent illustrator of the Heritage Limited Editions Club’s series of classic works. He was well known for the political themes of his artwork, often addressing labor and class issues.
In celebration of the art and life of this American printmaker and illustrator, independent filmmaker Michael Maglaras of 217 Films produced a new film titled O Brother Man: The Art and Life of Lynd Ward. The documentary features an interview with the artist’s daughter Robin Ward Savage, as well as more than 150 works from all periods of Ward’s career. The 94-minute documentary, culled from over 7 hours of film and narrated by Maglaras, premiered at Penn State University Libraries, Foster Auditorium, on April 20, 2012, where it was warmly received. Penn State’s Special Collections Library has also become the repository for much Lynd Ward material, and may continue to receive material from Ward family collections.
He won a number of awards, including a Library of Congress Award for wood engraving, the Caldecott Medal for America’s Ethan Allen in 1950 and The Biggest Bear in 1953, and a Rutgers University award for Distinguished Contribution to Children’s Literature. He illustrated six Newbery Honor Medal books and two Newbery Medal books. In 2011, Ward was listed as a Judges’ Choice for The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.