Thomas Handforth
Illustration — Thomas Handforth (1936) Photo by Carl Van Vechten • Illustration — "The Jar of Myrrh and Incense" by Thomas Scofield Handford, circa 1916 Thomas Scofield Handforth (September 16, 1897 – October 19, 1948) was an American artist and etcher. He wrote and illustrated the children's picture book Mei Li based on personal experience in China and won the 1939 Caldecott Medal for illustration. Mei Li is about a girl who escapes her traditional life in the Chinese countryside to visit a Chinese New Year fair.
Also recorded as Thomas S. Handforth · Thomas Schofield Handforth · Thomas Scofield Handforth
Thomas Handforth
Wood Reber, Inc. · This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by Seattle Public Library as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America, via its partner North · Public domain
- Born
- Thomas Handforth was born on 16 September 1897. · Tacoma.
- Died
- Thomas Handforth died on 19 October 1948. · Los Angeles.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- etcher · illustrator · artist
- Education
- University of Washington · Beaux-Arts de Paris · Art Students League of New York · National Academy of Design
- Honours
- Guggenheim Fellowship · Caldecott Medal
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Thomas Handforth (16 settembre 1897 – 19 ottobre 1948) figura come acquafortista, “lithographers”, “graphic artists”, “illustrators”, “painters (artists)” e “printmakers” negli archivi di autorità della Bibliothèque nationale de France, della Deutsche Nationalbibliothek e della Getty Union List of Artist Names.
Vita
Thomas Handforth nacque il 16 settembre 1897; il luogo di nascita è Tacoma, secondo la Bibliothèque nationale de France e la Getty Union List of Artist Names. La Bibliothèque nationale de France riporta la forma più precisa Tacoma, Washington. Thomas Handforth morì il 19 ottobre 1948; il luogo di morte è registrato come Los Angeles, Calif. dalla Bibliothèque nationale de France e come Wilmington dalla Getty Union List of Artist Names.
Istituzioni citate
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek · Getty Union List of Artist Names
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wikidata · Q7790390 · wikipedia · Thomas Handforth
In this article
Biography
Biography
It has been reissued since 1938 and Handforth's magnificent drawings of China in the 1930s are still animated and compelling. In 1939, he was considered an expert on Asian art. Books he illustrated included in Sidonie, Totou in Bondage and Tranquilinas Paradise. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, and studied art at the University of Washington. During World War I, he served in France with the anatomical unit in the Army's Sanitary Corps. He later studied art at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in France. He lived in various locations, such as Paris, India, North Africa, Mexico, and China.
Thomas Handforth studied at University of Washington, Beaux-Arts de Paris and Art Students League of New York. Residence is recorded at Los Angeles. Work by Thomas Handforth is recorded in the collections of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Print Collection and Whitney Museum of American Art. Distinctions recorded are Guggenheim Fellowship and Caldecott Medal.
![Drawing "The Jar of Myrrh and Incense" by [Thomas] Scofield Handford.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/The_Town_Crier%2C_v.11%2C_no.48%2C_Nov._25%2C_1916_-_DPLA_-_0bddf1992f908cf9207ea418dbdd24a6_%28page_1%29.jpg/800px-The_Town_Crier%2C_v.11%2C_no.48%2C_Nov._25%2C_1916_-_DPLA_-_0bddf1992f908cf9207ea418dbdd24a6_%28page_1%29.jpg)
Drawing "The Jar of Myrrh and Incense" by [Thomas] Scofield Handford.
Wood, James A., Reber, E.L. · This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by Seattle Public Library as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America, via its partner North
![Drawing "The Jar of Myrrh and Incense" by [Thomas] Scofield Handford.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/%22The_Jar_of_Myrrh_and_Incense%22_by_Thomas_Scofield_Handford.jpg/800px-%22The_Jar_of_Myrrh_and_Incense%22_by_Thomas_Scofield_Handford.jpg)
Drawing "The Jar of Myrrh and Incense" by [Thomas] Scofield Handford.
Thomas Scofield Handford · This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by Seattle Public Library as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America. Record in source cata
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- Los Angeles
Named but not plotted · 3
Thomas Handforth was born at Tacoma.
Birthplace
Thomas Handforth died at Los Angeles.
Deathplace
Tacoma.
Birth place
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reference work
- “Thomas Handforth”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7790390: Thomas Handforth
General reference · Wikidata
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Thomas Handforth, revision 1351793252 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.
- 2.Horning, Kathleen T. Thomas Handforth, China, and the Real Mei Li. The Horn Book.
- 3.Librarians Honor Children's Books; Newbery Prize Given to Mrs. Elizabeth Enright, Caldecott Award to Thomas Handforth. The New York Times. June 21, 1939.
- 4.Scofield Handforth Home on Furlough. The Tacoma Times. 3. June 1, 1918.
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Distinctions
1- Caldecott MedalTerminology
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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 17 August 2026.
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