Michael McCurdy

Michael McCurdy
Michael McCurdy c. 1985
Born	(1942-02-17)February 17, 1942 New York, New York, U.S.
Died	May 28, 2016(2016-05-28) (aged 74) Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Known for	Illustrator, author

Michael McCurdy (February 17, 1942 – May 28, 2016) was an American illustrator, author, and publisher. He illustrated over 200 books in his career, including ten that he authored. Most were illustrated with his trademark black and white wood engravings, with occasional color illustrations. His illustrations often have historical or natural themes.

Michael McCurdy was born in New York City in 1942 and grew up in New Rochelle, New York and Marblehead, Massachusetts. As a young boy, he was inspired by illustrator Lynd Ward, writing him a fan letter in his teen years that evolved into a lifelong friendship and collaboration. He also developed an interest in hand-printing, thanks to a toy printing press that he received as a present at the age of twelve.

From 1960 to 1966, McCurdy attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, where he completed his first wood engraving in 1963 and met his longtime friend and collaborator Robert Hauser. While he was at the Museum School, his roommate was David M. McPhail, the well-known children's book author and illustrator. Another future children's book illustrator, Wallace Tripp, was also in the printmaking department. At Tufts University, McCurdy earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1964 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1971. He served as an Instructor at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts from 1966-1967, at Concord Academy from 1972-1975, and at Wellesley College Library Rare Book Print Lab from 1975-1976.

A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, McCurdy worked for two years as an orderly in the orthopedic ward at Children's Hospital in Boston to fulfill his alternative service. He married Deborath Lamb McCurdy on September 7, 1968. When he was released from hospital duty in 1969, he and his wife used his Museum of Fine Arts award of a traveling fellowship to spend nearly five months traveling throughout Europe and the Soviet Union.