Gustaf Tenggren was born November 3, 1896 in Magra, Sweden. He attended the Valand School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg, Sweden and in 1917 began illustrating Bland Tomtar Och Troll, an annual serial of fairy tales published for children. In 1920, Gustaf Tenggren came to the United States and in 1923 illustrated his first work for children in America, Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wonder Book [and] Tanglewood Tales. Throughout his long career as an artist and illustrator, Tenggren illustrated dozens of books for children, including many of his own adaptations of fairy and folk tales. His illustrations are noted for their vivid evocations of the place, characters and mood of the stories.
Gustaf Tenggren also worked as a designer at the Walt Disney Studios and through this connection began his long affiliation with Little Golden Books. He illustrated many of the "standard" Little Golden Books including The Poky Little Puppy, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, and The Tawny Scrawny Lion. Gustaf Tenggren also continued to work as an artist and periodical illustrator, and had many exhibitions in the United States and Europe. Gustaf Tenggren died on April 6, 1970.
From the guide to the Gustaf Tenggren Papers, 1896-1970, (University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections)
