David Macaulay
Encyclopedia
David Macaulay is an author
and illustrator
. Now a resident of Norwich
, Vermont
, United States
, he is an alumnus and faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design
.
, UK, Macaulay moved to Bloomfield, New Jersey
at the age of eleven. He began drawing while in the United States. After graduating from high school
in Cumberland, Rhode Island
in 1964, he enrolled in the Rhode Island School of Design
(RISD), from which he received a bachelor's degree in architecture. He spent his fifth year at RISD in the European Honors Program, studying in Rome
, Herculaneum
and Pompeii
.
Macaulay's books have sold more than two million copies in the United States, been translated into a dozen languages, and been widely praised. Time
magazine said of his work, "What [Macaulay] draws, he draws better than any other pen-and-ink illustrator in the world". His numerous awards include the MacArthur Fellows Program
award, the Caldecott Medal
, won for his book Black and White
, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, the Washington Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, and a Dutch Silver Slate Pencil Award. He was a two-time nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award and is the recipient of the Bradford Washburn
Award, presented by the Museum of Science in Boston to an outstanding contributor to science.
In June 2007, his work was the subject of the exhibition "David Macaulay, the Art of Drawing Architecture" which opened for a limited run through January 2008 (later extended to May 4) at the National Building Museum
in Washington, D.C.
He currently lives in Norwich, Vermont
.
cathedral
. This was followed by a series of books of the same type: City (1974), on the construction of Verbonia, a fictitious but typical Roman
city; Pyramid (1975), on the building of monuments to the Egyptian Pharaoh
s; Castle (1977), on the construction of Aberwyvern castle
, a fictitious but typical medieval castle
; Mill (1983), on the evolution of New England
mills; and Mosque (2003), which depicts the design and construction of an Ottoman-style masjid. Other books in this series are Underground (1976), which describes the building foundations and support structures (such as water and sewer
pipes) that underlie a typical city intersection, and Unbuilding (1980), which describes the hypothetical dismantling of the Empire State Building
in preparation for re-erection in the Middle East.
Macaulay has illustrated a number of other books, including the popular The Way Things Work
(1988, text by Neil Ardley
) which was expanded and rereleased as The New Way Things Work (1998). These works remain his most commercially successful and served as the basis for a short-lived educational television program
. He has also written a number of children's fiction books.
His books often display a whimsical humor. Illustrations in The Way Things Work depict cave people
and woolly mammoth
s operating giant-sized versions of the devices he is explaining. Motel of the Mysteries, written in 1979 following the 1976–1979 exhibition of the Tutankhamun
relics in the USA, concerns the discovery by future archaeologists of an American motel
and the archaeologists' ingenious interpretation of the motel and its contents as a funerary and temple complex. Baaa is set after the human race has somehow gone extinct. Sheep discover artifacts of lost human civilization and attempt to rebuild it. However, the new sheep-inhabited world develops the same side effects of economic disparity, crime, and war.
To research his book The Way We Work, Macaulay spent years talking and studying with doctors and researchers, attending medical procedures, and laboriously sketching and drawing. He worked with medical professionals such as Lois Smith (a professor at Harvard University and researcher at Children's Hospital Boston) and medical writer Richard Walker to ensure the accuracy of both his words and his illustrations. Anne Gilroy, clinical anatomist in the departments of surgery and cell biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, consulted on the book, and says of Macaulay, "His remarkable curiosity and meticulous research led him into some of the most complicated facets of the human body yet he tells this story with simplicity, ingenuity and humor."
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
. Now a resident of Norwich
Norwich, Vermont
Norwich is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States, located along the Connecticut River opposite Hanover, New Hampshire. The population was 3,544 at the 2000 census....
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he is an alumnus and faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
.
Biography
Born in LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, UK, Macaulay moved to Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 47,315. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.-History:...
at the age of eleven. He began drawing while in the United States. After graduating from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Cumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, incorporated in 1746. The population was 33,506 at the 2010 census.-History:...
in 1964, he enrolled in the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
(RISD), from which he received a bachelor's degree in architecture. He spent his fifth year at RISD in the European Honors Program, studying in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Herculaneum
Herculaneum
Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in AD 79, located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano, in the Italian region of Campania in the shadow of Mt...
and Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
.
Macaulay's books have sold more than two million copies in the United States, been translated into a dozen languages, and been widely praised. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine said of his work, "What [Macaulay] draws, he draws better than any other pen-and-ink illustrator in the world". His numerous awards include the MacArthur Fellows Program
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
award, the Caldecott Medal
Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...
, won for his book Black and White
Black and White (book)
Black and White is a book by David Macaulay. Released by Houghton Mifflin, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1991. The book contains four different illustrated stories told at once, two on the left hand page and two on the right...
, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards were first presented by The Boston Globe and Horn Book Magazine in 1967. They are among the most prestigious honors in the United States in the field of children’s and young adult literature...
, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, the Washington Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, and a Dutch Silver Slate Pencil Award. He was a two-time nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award and is the recipient of the Bradford Washburn
Bradford Washburn
Henry Bradford Washburn, Jr. was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his death served as its Honorary Director .Washburn is especially noted for exploits in four...
Award, presented by the Museum of Science in Boston to an outstanding contributor to science.
In June 2007, his work was the subject of the exhibition "David Macaulay, the Art of Drawing Architecture" which opened for a limited run through January 2008 (later extended to May 4) at the National Building Museum
National Building Museum
The National Builders Museum, in Washington, D.C., United States, is a museum of "architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning"...
in Washington, D.C.
He currently lives in Norwich, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Work
Macaulay is the author of several books on architecture and design. His first book, Cathedral (1973), was a history, extensively illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings, of the construction of a fictitious but representative GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
. This was followed by a series of books of the same type: City (1974), on the construction of Verbonia, a fictitious but typical Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
city; Pyramid (1975), on the building of monuments to the Egyptian Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
s; Castle (1977), on the construction of Aberwyvern castle
Aberwyvern castle
Aberwyvern castle is a fictitious medieval castle built in 13th century Wales. David Macaulay to explain the construction and features of such a fortification.The castle is fictional but the historical context is real...
, a fictitious but typical medieval castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
; Mill (1983), on the evolution of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
mills; and Mosque (2003), which depicts the design and construction of an Ottoman-style masjid. Other books in this series are Underground (1976), which describes the building foundations and support structures (such as water and sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
pipes) that underlie a typical city intersection, and Unbuilding (1980), which describes the hypothetical dismantling of the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
in preparation for re-erection in the Middle East.
Macaulay has illustrated a number of other books, including the popular The Way Things Work
The Way Things Work
The Way Things Work is a book by David Macaulay. It is intended to serve as an entertaining introduction to everyday machines. It covers machines as simple as levers and gears and as complicated as radio telescopes and automatic transmissions...
(1988, text by Neil Ardley
Neil Ardley
Neil Richard Ardley was a prominent English jazz pianist and composer, who also made a name as the author of more than 100 popular books on science and technology, and on music.-Brief biography:...
) which was expanded and rereleased as The New Way Things Work (1998). These works remain his most commercially successful and served as the basis for a short-lived educational television program
The Way Things Work (TV Series)
The Way Things Work was a short-lived television series based on the best-selling book of the same name by David Macaulay. The series was co-produced by Millimages and Schlessinger Media; it was distributed by the latter. The program ran daily on BBC2 and CBBC from 2001 to early 2002, before it was...
. He has also written a number of children's fiction books.
His books often display a whimsical humor. Illustrations in The Way Things Work depict cave people
Caveman
A caveman or troglodyte is a stock character based upon widespread concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans may have looked and behaved...
and woolly mammoth
Woolly mammoth
The woolly mammoth , also called the tundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia...
s operating giant-sized versions of the devices he is explaining. Motel of the Mysteries, written in 1979 following the 1976–1979 exhibition of the Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
relics in the USA, concerns the discovery by future archaeologists of an American motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
and the archaeologists' ingenious interpretation of the motel and its contents as a funerary and temple complex. Baaa is set after the human race has somehow gone extinct. Sheep discover artifacts of lost human civilization and attempt to rebuild it. However, the new sheep-inhabited world develops the same side effects of economic disparity, crime, and war.
To research his book The Way We Work, Macaulay spent years talking and studying with doctors and researchers, attending medical procedures, and laboriously sketching and drawing. He worked with medical professionals such as Lois Smith (a professor at Harvard University and researcher at Children's Hospital Boston) and medical writer Richard Walker to ensure the accuracy of both his words and his illustrations. Anne Gilroy, clinical anatomist in the departments of surgery and cell biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, consulted on the book, and says of Macaulay, "His remarkable curiosity and meticulous research led him into some of the most complicated facets of the human body yet he tells this story with simplicity, ingenuity and humor."
Publications
- Cathedral: The Story of its Construction (1973) (winner of the 1975 Deutscher JugendliteraturpreisDeutscher JugendliteraturpreisThe Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
for children's non-fiction) - City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (1974)
- Pyramid (1975)
- Underground (1976)
- CastleCastle (book)Castle is the second book in Garth Nix's The Seventh Tower series, published in 2000 by Scholastic. The cover design and art are by Madalina Stefan and Steve Rawlings respectively.-Plot:...
(1977) - Great Moments in Architecture (1978)
- Motel of The Mysteries (1979)
- Unbuilding (1980)
- Help! Let Me Out! (1982, David Lord Porter (Author), David MacAulay (Illustrator))
- Mill (1983)
- Baaa (1985)
- Why the Chicken Crossed the Road (1987)
- The Way Things WorkThe Way Things WorkThe Way Things Work is a book by David Macaulay. It is intended to serve as an entertaining introduction to everyday machines. It covers machines as simple as levers and gears and as complicated as radio telescopes and automatic transmissions...
(1988; text by David Macaulay and Neil ArdleyNeil ArdleyNeil Richard Ardley was a prominent English jazz pianist and composer, who also made a name as the author of more than 100 popular books on science and technology, and on music.-Brief biography:...
; updated in 1998 as The New Way Things Work) - Black and WhiteBlack and White (book)Black and White is a book by David Macaulay. Released by Houghton Mifflin, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1991. The book contains four different illustrated stories told at once, two on the left hand page and two on the right...
(1990) - Ship (1994)
- Shortcut (1995)
- Rome Antics (1997)
- The New Way Things Work (1998)
- Pinball Science (1998) (CD-ROMCD-ROMA CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
video game) - Building the Book Cathedral (1999)
- Building Big (2000)
- Angelo (2002)
- Mosque (2003)
- The Way We Work (October 7, 2008)
- Built to Last (2010)
External links
- Biography
- David Macaulay at the Houghton Mifflin site.
- A shorter biography of David Macaulay
- NCBLA David Macaulay bio
- NCBLA David Macaulay interview
- Exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum in 2008
- Exhibition at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, TN in 2008
- TED Talks: David Macaulay's Rome Antics at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in 2002