Original artwork, of page 20, for the book Howdy Doody's Circus, written by Edward Kean with illustrations by Liz Dauber and Don Gormely, and published by Simon & Schuster in New York, New York, in 1950.
During the 1940s and 1950s, Don Gormley created drawings for the popular Dell comic book series, Dell's Four Colors, that included Disney characters like Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Porky Pig as well as the popular cartoon character Oswald the Rabbit from 1942-1962. Additionally, he illustrated characters created by Walter Lantz, including Mr. McGoo and Andy Panda.
Liz Dauber's art career included working in several mediums, including illustrations, painting and magazine cover art. In her early years, she created colorful cover art for the popular New York women’s fashion magazine Mademoiselle. Married to Gregorio Prestopino, a painter of the Ashcan school, she and her husband were part of the planned community called Jersey Homesteads. Established by FDR during the Depression, this cooperative effort was meant to foster industrial, agricultural and artistic endeavors that served and enriched the community. Her illustrations for Howdy Doody's Circus was her sole effort for Little Golden Books, but she went on to illustrate several children and young adult books that featured topics about history, folklore and biographies. Her emphasis on juvenile literature also included books for the Scholastic Young Reader series and the Ginnie books.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.