Illustration 03 Jan 2007 08:15 am
Lisl Weil
Lisl Weil was a book illustrator/author who pro-duced over 100 children’s books since the 1950′s. She also wrote at least half of them.
She’s had a modest contact with film. In 1962, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice captured her performance at Lincoln Center, drawing larger-than-life characters in different colored chalks while aggressively dancing to the Dukas score. Weston Woods distributed it.
Her art, to me, seems right out of the UPA mode, although the line is definitely looser. The books I’ve seen are a bit restricted in colors. That’s undoubtedly caused by the expense of the 4 color process, and publishers sought art with fewer colors. (I’m fascinated with all the illustrators pre-80′s who worked with a two or three color system.)
I’ve seen a number of her books which adapt lesser known operatic works.
The Golden Spinning Wheel, published in 1969, takes one of Dvorak’s five musical poems and illustrates it. I enjoy how she incorporates the musical ligature into the illustrations.
Here are a few of the double page spreads from that book. It’s about a third of the book. I wanted to share a sample.
1 
2
(Click on any image to enlarge.)
on 06 Aug 2008 at 7:27 am 1.Susanne Klingenstein said …
Thanks for displaying Lisl Weil’s art. She deserves more attention. It’s hard to find biographical information about her. Your display illustrates just how amzing her work was: musical, joyous, lively, animated in the best way.
on 07 Sep 2008 at 9:42 pm 2.Cicada Studio said …
I came to your blog on the hunt for an edition of Twelve Dancing Princesses (I have no idea the illustrator, but it was my favorite book when I was growing up in the ’70′s). As I skimmed your pages, I see these beautiful illustrations and it reminded me so much of another of my favorites “I Wish, I Wish”. Much to my delight, it is the same illustrator! Thanks for posting all these wonderful old books. I am enjoying it immensely.
on 22 Jul 2011 at 7:37 am 3.Miriam Baxt said …
Hi
Thanks for your for your blog write up of Lisl Weil – my great aunt.
She was a wonderful person who I only had limited contact with as I live in Australia.
She loved music & combining her art with music, either in books or doing concerts. I was priveledged to see one of these events. It was fantastic.
Miriam Baxt.
on 22 Jul 2011 at 10:42 am 4.Ruth Baxt said …
I am her niece – my Mother is her half sister. As well as others given to me personally by my Aunt, I have an earlier book : Jacoble tells the truth. This book was sent to me in England in September, 1946 by my Aunt Lisl from New York – the same year as it was published by Houghton Mifflin Company – Boston. She was a wonderful writer and illustrator, and as my Daughter writes previously, we were honoured to have seen her on stage. My Husband and I were lucky enough to see her perform 3 times, as well as on TV. The TV show was Cinderella.
She was full of fun and joie de vivre and I do miss her.
Ruth Baxt
on 18 Aug 2011 at 7:28 am 5.Marina Jimenez Piano said …
Kate Morton’s novel The forgotten garden is similar to the life of Lisl Weil.
Is a beatiful story