16 Facts About Leo Lionni

Leo Lionni was an American writer and illustrator of children's books.

Leo Lionni returned to Italy in 1962 and started writing and illustrating children's books.

Leo Lionni's father worked as an accountant and his mother was an opera singer.

Leo Lionni's father was assigned to an office in Italy part way through Leo's time in high school.

Leo Lionni married Nora Maffi, the daughter of Fabrizio Maffi, a founder of the Italian Communist Party, and they had two sons, Louis and Paolo, grandchildren Pippo and Annie and Sylvan, and great-grandchildren Madeline, Luca, Sam, Nick, Alix, Henry and Theo.

Leo Lionni died October 11,1999, at his home in Tuscany, Italy, at the age of 89.

Leo Lionni commissioned art from Saul Steinberg, the then neophyte Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, and Fernand Leger.

Leo Lionni was a member of the Advertising Art Hall of Fame.

Leo Lionni maintained outside clients, designing The Family of Man catalogue design for the Museum of Modern Art, and was design director for Olivetti, for whom he produced ads, brochures and showroom design.

Leo Lionni taught at Parsons School of Design in 1954; the Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India, in 1967; the University of Illinois in 1967; and Cooper Union from 1982 to 1985.

Leo Lionni worked in many disciplines including, especially, drawing, painting, sculpture and photography.

Leo Lionni had one-man shows in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Leo Lionni continued to work as an artist until just before his death in 1999.

Leo Lionni participated in workshops with children and even after his death school children continue to honor him by making their own versions of his books.

Leo Lionni uses earth tones in his illustrations that are close to the actual colors of the objects found in nature.

Leo Lionni's illustrations have been compared to those of Eric Carle as both often employ animals, birds, insects, and other creatures to tell a story about what it is to be human.