Jean-Thomas "Tomi" Ungerer (German pronunciation:[ˈtoːmiˈʊŋəʁɐ]ⓘ; 28 November 1931 – 9 February 2019) was a French artist and writer from Alsace (a French region on the French/German border).[1][2] He published over 140 books ranging from children's books to adult works and from the fantastic to the autobiographical. Ungerer was known for sharp social satire and witty aphorisms. He is also famous as a cartoonist and designer of political posters and film posters.[3]
Ungerer was born on 28 November 1931, inStrasbourg in Alsace, France,[6] the youngest of four children to Alice (Essler) and Theo Ungerer.[7][8] The family moved to Logelbach, nearColmar, after Theodore—an artist, engineer, and astronomical clock manufacturer—died in 1936. Ungerer also lived through theGerman occupation of Alsace when the family home was requisitioned by theWehrmacht.[9][10]
As a young man, Ungerer was inspired by the illustrations appearing inThe New Yorker magazine, particularly the work ofSaul Steinberg.[11][12] In 1957, the year after moving to the United States,Harper & Row published Ungerer's first children's book,The Mellops Go Flying, and his second,The Mellops Go Diving for Treasure. By the early 1960s, Ungerer had created at least 10 children's picture books with Harper, plus a few others, and had illustrated some books by other writers. He also did illustration work for publications, includingThe New York Times,Esquire,Life,Harper's Bazaar,The Village Voice,[12] and for television during the 1960s. Ungerer later began to create posters denouncing theVietnam War.[9]
Maurice Sendak calledMoon Man (1966) "easily one of the best picture books in recent years."[13] AfterAllumette: A Fable, subtitledWith 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 concern sexuality. He eventually returned to children's literature withFlix in 1998. Ungerer donated many of the manuscripts and artwork for his early children's books to the Children's Literature Research Collection at theFree Library of Philadelphia.[14]
A consistent theme in Ungerer's illustrations was his support for European construction, beginning with Franco-German reconciliation in his home region of Alsace, and in particular European values of tolerance and diversity. In 2003, he was named Ambassador for Childhood and Education by the 47-nationCouncil of Europe.[15]
Ungerer divided his time between Ireland, where he and his wife had moved in 1976,[9][16] and Strasbourg.[13] In addition to his work as a graphic artist and 'drawer', Ungerer was also a designer, toy collector and "archivist of human absurdity."[13]
Ungerer described himself first and foremost as a storyteller and satirist. Prevalent themes in his work include political satire (such as drawings and posters against theVietnam War and against animal cruelty),eroticism, and imaginative subjects for children's books.[9] Ungerer's publications are held by theGerman National Library, including:[22]
Maria Linsmann: preface to exhibition catalogueTomi Ungerer-Illustrationen und Plastiken, Burg Wissem,Bilderbuchmuseum [de] ofTroisdorf 2000
Thérèse Willer:Tomi Ungerer, the "Picasso“ of caricature. In:Graphis. The international journal of design and communication,ISSN0017-3452, vol. 59, no. 348, 2003, pp 18–37
Thérèse Willer:Tomi Ungerer. Das Tomi Ungerer Museum in Strasbourg.Diogenes, Zurich 2007,ISBN978-3-257-02094-6. (catalogue of the permanent exhibition, with 210 illustrations by Ungerer, three essays by Thérèse Willer and several introductions)
