Reynold Ruffins
Reynold Dash Ruffins (August 5, 1930 – July 11, 2021) was an American painter, illustrator, and graphic designer. An illustrator of more than twenty children's books, Ruffins is known for his "stylistic versatility, vibrant colors, and penchant for fanciful creatures." He has had many solo exhibitions and been part of group show exhibitions at Paris' Musée du Louvre, and in Milan, Bologna, and Tokyo.
Also recorded as Reynold Dash Ruffins
Reynold Ruffins
CaptJayRuffins · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Reynold Ruffins
- Born
- 5 August 1930
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Died
- 11 July 2021
- Place of death
- Sag Harbor, New York, U.S.
- Field
- Painting, children's book illustration, graphic design
- Training
- Cooper Union
- Awards
- Augustus St.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- graphic designer · painter · artist
- Fields
- painting
- Education
- High School of Music & Art · Cooper Union
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Reynold Dash Ruffins (August 5, 1930 – July 11, 2021) was an American painter, illustrator, and graphic designer. An illustrator of more than twenty children's books, Ruffins is known for his "stylistic versatility, vibrant colors, and penchant for fanciful creatures." He has had many solo exhibitions and been part of group show exhibitions at Paris' Musée du Louvre, and in Milan, Bologna, and Tokyo.
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wikidata · Q7319610 · wikipedia · Reynold Ruffins
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Reynold Ruffins • Born — 5 August 1930 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 11 July 2021 • Place of death — Sag Harbor, New York, U.S. • Field — Painting, children's book illustration, graphic design • Training — Cooper Union • Awards — Augustus St. Gaudens Award (Cooper Union) Cooper Union Presidential Citation Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award, 1997 New York Art Directors Club Silver Medal, the Society of Illustrators
Biography
Biography
Ruffins attended the High School of Music & Art in New York City and Cooper Union. While a student at Cooper Union he co-founded Design Plus with Seymour Chwast, Milton Glaser, and Edward Sorel. It was a short-lived venture. After graduation the collaborative partnership evolved and in 1954, he co-founded Push Pin Studios with fellow Cooper graduates Glaser, Sorel, and Chwast. In 1963, after leaving Push Pin, Ruffins co-founded another design studio with Simms Taback, a partnership which lasted for more than thirty years. Commercial clients included IBM, AT&T, Coca-Cola, CBS, Pfizer, the New York Times, Time Life, Fortune, Gourmet Magazine, and the U.S. Post Office. Ruffins entered the field of children's book illustration in 1969, and throughout the 1970s and early 1980s he frequently collaborated with writer Jane Sarnoff. In 1991, Ruffins teamed with Whoopi Goldberg and Herbie Hancock to produce "Koi and the Kola Nuts," a highly praised video for children which was part of Rabbit Ears Productions' We All Have Tales series. Ruffins died at home on Sunday July 11, 2021, surrounded by family. He lived in Sag Harbor, New York; his wife Joan died in 2013.
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New York City.
Birth place
Sag Harbor.
Death place
Teaching
A professor emeritus at CUNY's Queens College, Ruffins has also taught at the School of Visual Arts, Parsons The New School for Design, and was a visiting adjunct professor at Syracuse University.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Reynold Ruffins”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7319610: Reynold Ruffins
General reference · Wikidata
Awards
Ruffins was the recipient of the Augustus St. Gaudens Award (presented by Cooper Union) for outstanding professional achievement in the arts. The Cooper Union Presidential Citation was also presented to Ruffins for his work and prominence in his profession. Ruffins' work led to awards from the New York Art Directors Club and a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators. Ruffins won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award in 1997 for the book Running the Road to ABC (written by Denize Lauture). His illustrations for the Haitian author earned Mr. Ruffins international honors.
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reference work
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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