The Children’s Book Illustrations of Roger Duvoisin

Join Bejamin Sapp, Director of the University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum—the world’s largest collection of original artwork by children’s book illustrators—for an exploration of Roger Duvoisin and his legacy, and a discussion of the Mazza Museum and illustrated children’s books.

Roger Duvoisin, a prize-winning author and illustrator of children’s books, was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and studied art there and in France. In the late 1920s, he immigrated to the United States.

Duvoisin’s signature style was colorful, bold and  graphic, and he had a strong sense of composition and design. He incorporated both humor and drama into his art. Over the years, he wrote and illustrated over forty books, including series that featured Petunia the silly goose and Veronica the conspicuous hippo, and folktales such as the Three Sneezes and The Crocodile in the Tree.

Original Duvoisin prints were donated to the Library by the family of Jeanne Marie McGinness, for which the Library is deeply grateful. Miss McGinness, who taught French and English as her lifetime career and who was awarded one of the first Fulbright Scholarships, wrote Roger Duvoisin asking that he be her students’ pen pal. Duvoisin gladly obliged, even visiting Miss McGinness’ classrooms.

The original Duvoisin prints will be available for viewing in the Main Library’s lower level.