Fritz Kredel facts for kids

Fritz Kredel (February 8, 1900 – April 12, 1973) was a German, later American artist and graphic designer.

Early years

He was born in Michelstadt-im-Odenwald, then in the Grand Duchy of Hesse of the German Empire. In his early years, he studied under Rudolf Koch at Offenbach School of Art and Design, and developed skills in woodcuts. Koch and Kredel collaborated on A Book of Signs (1923) and The Book of Flowers (1930). Following Koch's death in 1934, Kredel moved to Frankfurt, but in 1938 he fled Germany for political reasons with help from Melbert Cary.

Career

After emigrating to the United States that year, he taught at Cooper Union in New York and continued to work as an artist. He produced illustrations for over 400 books in German and English and received many awards and honors. Many of his originals are now housed at the Art Library at Yale University.

Kredel illustrated Eleanor Roosevelt's children's book, Christmas (Alfred A. Knopf, 1940), and was commissioned to create a woodcut of the Presidential Seal for the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. He illustrated several volumes for George Macy's Limited Edition Club (cf. Heritage Press), and the original World's Best Fairy Tales for Reader's Digest Association (1967). The Limited Edition Club titles include The Complete Andersen: All of the Stories of Hans Christian Andersen in Six Volumes, a limited edition of 1500 sets for the Limited Editions Club (completed as a set, 1949, ). Kredel also colored the John Tenniel illustrations for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass for the 1946 Random House editions.

Other Resources

• Brown Swanson, Mathilde Kredel (2013), Fritz Kredel: Artist, Illustrator and Grandfather, Printing History. https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-407670281/fritz-kredel-artist-illustrator-and-grandfather