“WILLA” ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATION BY AMERICAN CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATOR AND DESIGNER LEONARD WEISGARD (1916-2000)

This illustration, of a young girl on horseback galloping past sunflowers that are featured in the foreground, is an original work by the artist Leonard Weisgard, the award-winning illustrator of more than 300 children’s books.

The illustration is unsigned, created circa 1957-1958. It is titled in pencil by the artist on the verso “Willa”. This is a detailed preliminary design for the dust jacket of the book titled “WILLA, The Story of Willa Cather’s Growing Up” by the author Ruth Franchere, published by Thomas Y. Crowell, New York in 1958.

The illustration is a mixed media of stenciling and gouache painted to the edges on illustration board. The illustration measures 17 x 24 1/2 inches. The illustration comes unframed.