Bronx author’s collection acquired by University of Pennsylvania
BY JASON COHEN
An internationally recognized
children’s book author and illustrator,
poet and humanitarian, Bronx
native Ashley Bryan, recently had
a collection of his work acquired by
the University of Pennsylvania Libraries.
On Thursday, December 5, Bryan’s
archive came to the Kislak Center
for Special Collections, Rare Books
and Manuscripts at the Penn Libraries
through the Ashley Bryan Center,
which has represented and preserved
his legacy since 2013. Bryan
also has art displayed in the Mott Haven
Library.
The archive includes original
drawings and manuscripts for Bryan’s
many book projects, along with
correspondence dating from his days
as a student at The Cooper Union for
the Advancement of Science and Art
in the early 1940s and fan mail from
admirers around the globe.
Nick Clark, the founding director
of the Ashley Bryan Center, in
Maine, has known Bryan for several
years and feels this is a tremendous
opportunity for people to learn about
Bryant.
“He’s extraordinary. He’s the
type of person that literally when he
comes into a room he lights it up,”
Clark said. “As an artist of color he
was among the pioneers to bring
characters of color into books for
children.”
Bryan, 96, was raised in the
Bronx. At 17, he entered the tuitionfree
Cooper Union School of Art and
Engineering, having been denied entry
elsewhere because of his race.
Drafted out of art school into the
segregated U.S. Army at 19, Bryan
preserved his humanity throughout
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 42 ECEMBER 20-26, 2019 BTR
World War II by drawing, stowing
supplies in his gas mask when necessary.
After the war, he completed his
Cooper Union degree, studied philosophy
and literature at Columbia
University on the GI Bill, and then
went to Europe on a Fulbright scholarship,
seeking to understand why
humans choose war.
Clark noted that while Bryan
served overseas, his fellow soldiers
kept him away from weapons if they
could.
“He didn’t let the war get in the
way of his making art,” Clark said.
“The safest way for them was for Ashley
to be as far away from machinery
as possible.”
Bryan has published more than 50
books, including his recent one, “Infi
nite Hope.” This memoir, recounts
his experiences as an African American
drafted into the segregated U.S.
Armed Forces in 1943.
Bryan also spent 14 years teaching
at Dartmouth College in New
Hampshire.
“He’s a very gifted teacher,” Clark
said. “I think he really prefers working
with younger children.”
Bryan has made his home on Little
Cranberry Island, just off the coast of
Maine, for the last 50 years.
During the past three decades
he has written and illustrated more
than 20 children’s books celebrating
his African American heritage.
Lynn Farrignton, the senior curator
of special collections at the
Kislak Center, has met Bryan many
times and though his work would be
a great addition to the facility.
“He’s an amazing individual,” she
said. “I’ve been blown away every
time I’ve met him.”
Bronx native Ashley Bryan at UPenn, where his artowrk and writing was just acquired by the
school. Photo Courtesy Penn Development and Alumni Relations