Sewell, Helen Moore

Helen Moore Sewell, (born June 27, 1896, Vallejo, California, U.S.—died February 24, 1957, New York City, New York), American artist and children’s author especially known for her illustrations for American author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series and for books of classic literature.

Sewell was the eldest of three daughters born to William Elbridge Sewell, a commander in the U.S. Navy, and Minnie Moore, a watercolour artist. Two years after Sewell’s mother died in 1901, the family moved to Guam, where her father was appointed governor of the territory. He died shortly before her eighth birthday, and she and her sisters grew up in Brooklyn in the home of her aunt and uncle. Sewell began painting and drawing at an early age. At the age of 12, she became the youngest person ever to attend the Pratt Institute. She also studied under the Ukrainian American artist Alexander Archipenko, who dramatically influenced her style.

Sewell’s early work was as both an author and an illustrator. She soon began drawing Christmas cards and greeting cards, and in 1924 she illustrated her first book, Susanne K. Langer’s The Cruise of the Little Dipper, and Other Fairy Tales. She illustrated her own book, ABC for Everyday, in 1930 and a year later collaborated with her sister on Building a House in Sweden. In 1932 she illustrated Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s first book. Others followed in the Little House series. She also illustrated classic works by American poet Emily Dickinson and British authors Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and A.A. Milne.

During her career Sewell illustrated more than 50 books, including eight in the Little House series. She won a Caldecott Honor in 1955 for her illustrations in The Thanksgiving Story by American author Alice Dalgliesh.