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Wanda Hazel Gág (March 11 1893–June 27 1946) was an American author and illustrator. She was born on March 11 1893 in New Ulm, Minnesota. Her mother (Elisabeth Biebl) and father (Anton) were of Bohemian descent.
Wanda Hazel Gág (pronounced like gog) was the oldest of seven children. Her father Anton Gág, son of a Bohemian woodcarver, was a painter and photographer. He used his painting talent to decorate houses and churches to support his family. In fact, he decorated their own dining room ceiling with cherubs and the walls with a geometric motif. Much of Anton Gag's work can still be seen around the town of New Ulm. He passed along his artistic talent to all his children.
Gág’s mother’s (Elisabeth Biebl) ancestors were from Czechoslovakia. Her European background was related to her through many German folktales told to her by her grandmother or an aunt or uncle. Only German was spoken in the household and Wanda did not learn to speak English until she attended school.
The happiness of her childhood was cut short by the death of her father from tuberculosis. Before he died, he said to her, “Was der Papa nicht thun kont, muss die Wanda halt fertig machen” meaning what Papa has left undone, Wanda will have to do. Gág was fourteen years old and since her mother was also sick, she considered herself the head of the household and took on the responsibility of raising her six younger siblings, the youngest one only one year old.
After her father’s death, there was very little insurance money and they received only $8.00 a month from welfare to cover their expenses. Although the neighbors thought Gág should quit school and work, she continued her schooling. There were offers for adoption for the remaining children but she was determined that they should all stay together and that they should all get a good education. After she graduated high school in 1912, Gág took a job as a teacher for a year. She also took on odd jobs such as writing and illustrating magazine articles, designing greeting cards and calendars, and painting lampshades. Her first published illustration was in the Minneapolis Junior Journal, a Sunday supplement. At this time, she also started to keep a diary which she continued to do until she died.
By 1923, she decided to draw and paint only what she pleased. Gág left her job in New York to spend her summers in a country house in Connecticut and later, on a farm in New Jersey. Her beau, Earle Marshall Humphreys, would come to spend the summers with her there and to avoid gossip, she bought an inexpensive wedding ring to wear while out with him. Her summers were kept busy with gardening, drawing and painting, and she would spend her winters in New York engaged in various money-making ventures. Humphreys became her biggest supporter and marketed her ideas to anyone who would listen. Wanda had developed a life long friendship with Georgia O'Keefe at this time.
In 1917 she illustrated A Child’s Book of Folk-Lore, following which she worked on many different projects, and became a well-known artist/author. Her art exhibition in the New York Public Library in 1923 was the true beginning of her fame. She was especially esteemed for her lithographs, though today if her name is known at all it is usually from her children's books, specifically the classic Millions of Cats. Gág received the Newbery Honor Award for this book, and the combined effects of it and her exhibition had given her the funds she needed to carry on her work without stress.
Wanda was a chain smoker most of her life and developed lung cancer. It was not long after her marriage to Humphreys that she was diagnosed with lung cancer. After she and Humphreys spent the winter in Florida, they came home to New Jersey where she died on 27 June 1946. Following her cremation, her ashes were scattered along the path to her studio in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.
There is no doubt that Gág was born to draw. When she was just seventeen years old, she recorded in her diary:
“My Own Motto—Draw to Live and Live to Draw.” (Diary 10, 28 October 1910)
Wanda Gag Childhood Home
The Wanda Gag childhood home is located in New Ulm, Minnesota and is open for public touring.
The Wanda Gag House was the childhood home of Wanda Gag, noted children’s author and illustrator. Wanda’s most well-known book was Millions of Cats. Constructed in 1894 by Wanda's father, Anton Gág, this Queen Anne style home has been carefully restored to its original design, color and decoration. Highlights include lithographs, illustrations, authentic artwork, photography, and an exhibit of books created by Wanda and her family. Books, reproductions and other articles are available for purchase.
Address: 226 N Washington Box 432 New Ulm, MN 56073 (507) 359-2632
Works
Novels
- The ABC Bunny, 1933.
- The Day of Doom by Michael Wigglesworth; illustrated by Wanda Gág, 1929.
- The Funny Thing, 1929.
- Gone is Gone; or, the Story of a Man Who Wanted to Do Housework, 1935.
- Growing Pains: Diaries and Drawings for the Years 1908-1917
- Millions of Cats, 1928.
- More Tales from Grimm, 1947.
- Nothing At All, 1941.
- Snippy and Snappy, 1931.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1938.
- Tales from Grimm, 1936.
- Three Gay Tales from Grimm, 1943.
- Wanda Gag’s Storybook (includes Millions of Cats, The Funny Thing, and Snippy and Snappy), 1932.
Art
- Airtight Stove, 1933.
- Backyard Corner, 1930.
- Barnes At Glen Gardner, 1941-43.
- Behind the House, 1929.
- Evening, 1928.
- Fairy Story, 1937.
- Fireplace, 1930.
- The Forge, 1932.
- Gourds at Tumble Timbers, c. 1928.
- Interior, 1935.
- Kitchen Corner, c. 1929.
- Lamplight, 1929.
- Lantern and Fireplace, 1931-32.
- Macy's Stairway, 1940-41.
- Pie and Flowers, c. 1928.
- Spring in the Garden, 1927.
- Snowy Fields, 1932.
- Spinning Wheel, 1927.
- Pipe and Flowers, 1926.
- Ploughed Fields, 1936.
- Whodunit, 1944.
- Winter Garden, 1936.
- Winter Twilight, 1927.