Group of people looking upward, one with telescope
Date1947
Artist
William Pène du Bois
(American illustrator, 1916–1993)
Illustration CitationThe Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pène du Bois (New York: The Viking Press, 1947).
MediumInk on paper
Dimensionssheet: 11 1/8 × 7 5/8 in. (28.3 × 19.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1991
Object number1991-116
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextIn The Twenty-One Balloons, a professor's hot-air balloon explorations land him on Krakatoa, where - in a fantasical narrative - he finds an undiscovered opulent and scientifically advanced civilization and remains to observe its customs. Before the final eruption of the Krakatoa volcano eruption in 1883, the island dwellers build a balloon-propelled platform equipped with parachutes and escape to safety with the professor on board. He eventually returns home to tell his tale to a group of startled observers on the ground. .An author-illustrator of children's books, and Newbury and Caldecott winner, William Pene du Bois combined simplicity of line with subtle shading and elaborate patterns.
Born in New Jersey and educated partly in France, he was the son of painter Guy Pene du Bois.
George Louis Palmella Busson Du Maurier
1895
