Biography
The graphic artist, illustrator, and author Jean Thomas Ungerer was born November 28, 1931, in Strasbourg as the youngest of four children of a watchmaker's family. After the early death of his father, the family moved near Colmar. Ungerer's school days were marked by the double change of nationality of his Alsacian home. After World War II, Ungerer worked as a translator for French officers and travelled through Europe. In Algeria, he even served in a camel brigade of the French Army. But after a severe illness, Ungerer returned to the Alsace. From 1953 on, he attended Ecole Municipale des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg and worked as a window dresser and advertising artist.
In 1956, Ungerer emigrated to the United States and stayed for fourteen years in New York where his first, successful children's book was published in 1957. Ungerer designed advertising campaigns, published articles in newspapers, designed film posters – for instance for Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" – and worked on further children's books and satirical stories for adults. Many of his books became bestsellers, others were criticised or even occasionally banned for their drastic erotic images.
In 1971, Ungerer left New York and moved at first to Canada, then, in 1976, to Ireland, where he lived on a farm with his wife and his three children. Later, he also spent time again in his home town of Strasbourg. From the 1970s on, his works have been on display in big exhibitions. Ungerer has always been hugely productive and has published more than 140 books during his career. Furthermore, he established the "Kulturbank", an organization for the promotion of the cultural exchange between Germany and France, in Strasbourg. For this commitment, Ungerer was bestowed with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1993 – one of the numerous awards Ungerer has won for his achievements as an artist.
He was also awarded the Grand National Prize for Graphic Arts in France in 1995, the International Hans Christian Andersen Prize in 1998, the Erich Kästner Prize for Literature in 2003, and the Eckart Witzigmann Prize for "Eating as a Cultural Theme in Literature and Media" (2009; Ungerer was a passionate foodie); in and 2017 he was lauded with the Honorary Award of the Bavarian Prime Minister at the Bavarian Book Prize - to name but the most important awards.
But as an author Tomi Ungerer remains active, as well. His children's book "The Moon Man" (1996) is adapted for the screen twice: in 2006 as student short film and in 2012 as a full-length animated film. Other children's books include "Otto: Autobiography of a Teddy Bear" (1999) and "The Blue Cloud" (2000). In 2003, "Erotoscope", a new picture book for adults, is released. Other publications include "Once Upon a Time My Father" (2003), "Alsace: The Open Heart of Europe" (2004) and "Hell is the Devil's Paradise: Thoughts and Memories" (2008). Ungerer's last work is the children's book "The Mist Man: A History from Ireland" (2012).
In 2016, the Museum Folkwang in Essen presents an exhibition of barely known collages from Ungerer under the title "Incognito 160". In 2018 he becomes Commander of the Legion of Honor (France) and receives the honorary title "Professor" of the state of Baden-Württemberg.
On the night of February 9th, 2019, Tomi Ungerer dies in Cork, Ireland, in his daughter's house.