Maira Kalman

Maira Kalman studied at High School of Music & Art and New York University. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is children's literature, book illustration and design. Places of work recorded in the authority are Manhattan. Work by Maira Kalman is recorded in the collections of Art Institute of Chicago.

• Name — Maira Kalman • Native Name — מאירה קלמן • Born — 15 November 1949 • Birthplace — Tel Aviv, Israel • Known for — artist, illustrator, author, designer • Children — 2

Kalman was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her mother, Sara Berman, was originally from Belarus and had moved to Israel to escape pogroms. When Kalman was four years old, her family moved to Riverdale, Bronx in New York City. Her mother, Sara, spent a significant amount of time at the Loehmann's department store. She was known for her chic style, and she wore only the color white. Kalman attended the High School of Music & Art (now known as LaGuardia High School) where she studied art. Kalman attended New York University (NYU), where she studied English literature. By the time Kalman left for college, her parents had returned to Israel. At the age of 18, Kalman met designer Tibor Kalman at New York University, he was a native of Budapest who had moved to New York City as a child. She explained, "We met in this class of misfits in summer school. They said, You have to take these classes, otherwise we're going to throw you out. What was interesting was the mix of crazy people in that group... So we met there, and he asked me out on a date. And you know in your life, when you meet somebody [and] you go, 'I've known you for a thousand years,' and there's not even an iota of a question?"

In 1979, Tibor founded the graphic and design consultancy, M&Co. and Maira played an important role in the development of the company. She never actually worked at M & Co. but offered ideas, suggestions, and support. The firm grew to be highly influential; it was known for its innovative use of images and typography. M & Co. created work for Interview magazine, Restaurant Florent, the band Talking Heads, the National Audubon Society, and the Museum of Modern Art.

List of select exhibitions by Kalman: • 2003 – Just Looking, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY • 2005 – I Can't Stand All the Excitement, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY • 2007 – The Principles of Uncertainty, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY • 2008 – Just Looking, Beihang University, Beijing, China • 2009 – The Elements of Style, Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY • 2010 – Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA; Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA • 2010 – Further Illuminations, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY • 2010 – Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World), The Jewish Museum, New York, NY; Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA • 2011 – 25 Years/25 Artists, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY • 2011 – Storied City: New York in Picture Book Art, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY • 2012 – 37 Paintings, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY • 2013 – What Pete Ate from A to Z, Madison Children's Museum, Madison, Wisconsin • 2014 – Girls Standing on Lawns and Other Projects, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, New York • 2014 – Maira Kalman: My Favorite Things, The Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, NY • 2014 – The Elements of Style, The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN • 2014 – Thomas Jefferson Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything, Monticello, Charlottesville, VA • 2015 – Sara Berman's Closet, Mmuseumm, New York City, New York • 2017 – Sara Berman's Closet, in collaboration with Alex Kalman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York • 2019 – The Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman's Books for Children, The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia • 2022 – Women Holding Things, Mary Ryan Gallery, New York City

Maira Kalman married designer Tibor Kalman in 1981. Over the course of their marriage, Maira and Tibor had two children, Lulu Bodoni and Alexander Onomatopoeia. They were married eighteen years until Tibor's death from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1999. Her children attended the City and Country School in Greenwich Village. Kalman's mother, Sara Berman, was the early source to her inspiration behind storytelling and book reading. As a mother-daughter activity, Kalman and her mother would go to the library and connect themselves to the characters of the books they would read. In 2017, Kalman and her son Alexander got together with coordinators of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and created an exhibit dedicated to Kalman's mother called "Sara Berman's Closet." Sara Berman's Closet also became a memoir that Kalman and her son worked on in dedication to their loved family member. In 2014, Kalman has also performed in a production of Peter & the Wolf directed by Isaac Mizrahi at the Guggenheim's Peter B. Lewis Theater in New York City. Kalman's character is the duck, which is represented by the sound of an oboe. Kalman lives in Greenwich Village in New York City.