Tasha Tudor, R.I.P.

June 18, 2008 3:27 PM

Artist Tasha Tudor is dead at age 92. Born in 1915 to an inventor and a painter, Tasha has been a quirky fixture in the childrens' publishing world for more than half a century. She lived an anachronistic life in Vermont, raising goats and chickens, caring for the small herd of Welsh Corgis that appeared in many of her books, and maintaining a small arts-and-publishing business that sustained her and her family for years. When she died, she said, she wanted to return to the 1800s as a sea captain's wife. Here's hoping she's inhaling sea air now.
posted by verb (18 comments total)

I grew up on Tasha Tudor. When I think of books from my childhood, hers are the first to come to mind. I bet she is breathing that sea air, and walking on the beach with her toes in the sand!
posted by dirtmonster at 3:51 PM on June 18, 2008

I only discovered Tasha Tudor last fall. She was a fascinating woman.

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posted by freshwater_pr0n at 3:56 PM on June 18, 2008

Oh man. It's strange how you can be saddened by the death of someone you didn't even know was still alive. Corgiville Fair was one of the books that defined my childhood. My grandparents had a corgi and that book, and I must have made my grandmother read it to me about a hundred thousand times.

The book felt so timeless to me, I never would have guessed Tasha Tudor was still alive.

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posted by dersins at 3:57 PM on June 18, 2008

Her book of Christmas carols and stories is a fixture in my parents' house at the holidays. Sad that she's gone.
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:59 PM on June 18, 2008

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posted by BrotherCaine at 4:01 PM on June 18, 2008

Tasha Tudor was the reason I wanted to be an artist when I was a kid.

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posted by nax at 4:05 PM on June 18, 2008

Tasha Tudor is the reason I love little Corgi puppies.
posted by selfnoise at 4:40 PM on June 18, 2008

Wow. I had what seemed to be every one of Tasha Tudor's books growing up. A beautiful spirit.

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posted by fiercecupcake at 6:38 PM on June 18, 2008

I checked out the editions of The Secret Garden and A Little Princess that she illustrated from my elementary school's library so many times that I was embarrassed. I would have never guessed that she was still alive.


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posted by sugarfish at 6:52 PM on June 18, 2008

What an interesting person, fair winds madam, godspeed.
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:33 PM on June 18, 2008

I read her version of "The Secret Garden" so many times that I can actually see the pictures in my mind without referring back to the book. An amazing talent who will be missed.
posted by OolooKitty at 9:03 PM on June 18, 2008

Corgiville Fair was one of my very favorite books as a kid. This is a great loss.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:13 PM on June 18, 2008

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She completely captured the essences of Sara, Becky, Miss Minchin, Mary, Dickon and Colin for me
posted by brujita at 11:55 PM on June 18, 2008

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posted by JanetLand at 5:12 AM on June 19, 2008

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(imagine this "." in a lovely typeface on a beautifully illustrated background)
posted by pointystick at 5:52 AM on June 19, 2008

As a tiny girl, I would spend hours sitting quietly with a pad and a tumbled pile of colored pencils, trying to mimic the illustrations from Tasha Tudor's big book of fairy tales. She taught me about drawing texture, not outline: the stones of Rapunzel's tower, the weave of the flying carpet, the glove-soft leather of the cat's boots.

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posted by Elsa at 7:35 AM on June 19, 2008

Oh no! :( I loved Corgiville Fair -- it had a huge influence on me when I was small. She will be missed.
posted by gusandrews at 12:57 PM on June 19, 2008

Oh man. Bless her.

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posted by jokeefe at 5:39 PM on June 19, 2008