"One of the most praised printmakers of the 1920s and 1930s, Wanda Gag (1893-1946) produced an inventive body of work dealing with the forces of nature and infusing everyday objects with special character and energy. Her work reflects her Minnesota childhood, her Bohemian immigrant roots, and her self-image as a New Woman. Continually struggling with the financial and personal demands of her artistic career, Gag was, ironically, most famous for Millions of Cats (1928), one of her illustrated children's books." "Presenting the first catalogue raisonne of Gag's prints, Audur H. Winnan includes 196 lithographs, wood engravings, linoleum cuts, etchings, and study drawings. Among the featured prints are the well-known Lamplight, Elevated Station, Grandma's Kitchen, Grandma's Parlor, and Stone Crusher. Gag's media and methods are described, often in the artist's own words, including her unusual use of sandpaper as a matrix for lithographs and as a support for brush-and-ink drawings and water

There was once a family of seven brothers and sisters. Sadly, their father, an artist frustrated in his ambitions, died when the oldest child, a girl, was only fifteen. His dying wish was that she take up his dream of becoming a successful artist: "What Papa couldn't do," he told her, "Wanda would have to finish."

As soon as Wanda learned to draw, she dreamed of becoming an artist. But when her father died, a teenaged Wanda put her family before her art, taking care of her ailing mother and six siblings. When she knew that her family could support themselves, she finally attained her dream, winning a scholarship to a famous art school in New York City.

"Wanda Gag rose from poverty in small-town Minnesota to international fame in the 1920s as the author of the children's classic Millions of Cats. Her early diaries are the touching, often humorous record of her youth and her struggles to develop her talent"--Amazon.com.

Brings to life the childhood experiences of beloved artists and illustrators such as Wanda Gág, Maurice Sendak, and Jerry Pinkney. Stylish illustrations paired with small vignettes and anecdotes from the artists' early lives helps illuminate the hard work, triumphs, failures, and inspiration that helped forge their successful careers.