Nonny Hogrogian

Nonny Hogrogian was born on May 7, 1932 in New York City and grew up in an atmosphere that promoted artistic expression. Her mother dabbled in painting; her sister was an interior designer; and her father imitated the styles of Renoir, Monet, and others. She received the Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts from Hunter College in 1953 and studied woodcutting under Antonio Frasconi at the New School for Social Research in 1957. After college she worked as a production assistant and designer in the children's literature department of Thomas Y. Crowell. In 1960, she illustrated her first book, King of the Kerry Fair. Since then she has divided her time between freelance illustration and serving as designer for the children's books, first at Holt, Rinehart and Winston and later Charles Scribner's Sons. In 1971 she married David Kherdian, a poet whose work she sometimes illustrates.

Hogrogian has a natural affinity for folk and fairy tales, poetry, fantasy and stories with strong nationalistic themes. These preferences date back to the universal childhood fare of Grimm and Andersen, as well as to the stories she heard her parents tell of their native Armenia. For many of the more than fifty works she has illustrated, Hogrogian has used woodcutting, but she never tires of exploring other techniques in an effort to unite text and picture.

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