Hi, I’m Cynthia von Buhler, an Italian/American artist, author, and licensed wildlife rehabilitator who lives in the woods with rescued creatures, large and small.
I’ve been fortunate to collaborate on projects with the storytelling luminaries Steven Spielberg, Clive Barker, Anne Rockwell, and Neil Gaiman (who has endorsed me as “a wonder”). I’ve written and illustrated several picture books over the years and illustrated dozens of YA book covers, including reprints of Newbery winners. I also illustrate graphic novels for adults, including an ongoing, bestselling series for Titan Comics.
Recently, I’ve been creating reportage illustration journals. My journal of the month I spent on Kangaroo Island feeding the koalas after the catastrophic fires there appeared in The Washington Post.
I love illustrating stories about animals, nature, and environmental issues. I'm not a dog or cat person - I'm an animal person.
I adore all species and have dedicated my life to helping them through art, education, and activism. I enjoy working on books with complicated characters. I’m drawn to unique stories, magic realism, and unexpected endings.
Photographs by Steve Park
I’ve been fortunate to collaborate on projects with the storytelling luminaries Steven Spielberg, Clive Barker, Anne Rockwell, and Neil Gaiman (who has endorsed me as “a wonder”). I’ve written and illustrated several picture books over the years and illustrated dozens of YA book covers, including reprints of Newbery winners. I also illustrate graphic novels for adults, including an ongoing, bestselling series for Titan Comics.
Recently, I’ve been creating reportage illustration journals. My journal of the month I spent on Kangaroo Island feeding the koalas after the catastrophic fires there appeared in The Washington Post.
I love illustrating stories about animals, nature, and environmental issues. I'm not a dog or cat person - I'm an animal person.
I adore all species and have dedicated my life to helping them through art, education, and activism. I enjoy working on books with complicated characters. I’m drawn to unique stories, magic realism, and unexpected endings.
Photographs by Steve Park
BOOK RESUME
Partial CV below. For a full list please visit my main website at cynthiavonbuhler.com
CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS But Who Will Bell the Cats?, written and illustrated by Cynthia von Buhler, Houghton Mifflin, 2009, ISBN 0618563148 “Young readers will pore over this one again and again." – Kirkus "Children will find a lot to discover in the details, even after repeated readings". - School Library Journal "This story of an indefatigable mouse should find a welcome place on the shelves of any castle...or library." - Horn Book "Destined to earn the ‘classic’ label." - Urban Baby The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside, written and illustrated by von Buhler, Houghton Mifflin, 2006, ISBN 0618563148 "While the tale will be fun to share, the photographs are a delight to pore over individually." - School Library Journal 2006 Teacher's Picks: Best of 2006 - Parent & Child Children's Pick for Winter/Spring 2006/2007 - Book Sense They Called Her Molly Pitcher, written by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by von Buhler, Knopf, 2002, ISBN 0679891870 One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing, The New York Public Library, 2002 "The language is inviting, the story, exciting. Von Buhler's illustrations, which appear crackled, as if they were painted during this period, make the book shine." - School Library Journal "Sturdy brushwork and light crackling effects give her paintings a colonial look." - Publisher's Weekly Once Upon A Fairytale, partially written by Martha Stewart, partially illustrated by von Buhler, 21 celebrity authors, 21 award-winning illustrators, a Steven Spielberg benefit project, Viking, 2001, ISBN 0-670-03500-9 Nicolaus Copernicus: The Earth Is a Planet, written by Dennis Brindell Fradin, illustrated by von Buhler, Mondo Books, 2004, ISBN 1-59336-006-1 Little Girl in Red Dress With Cat and Dog, written by Nicholas Nicholson, illustrated by von Buhler, Viking, 1998, ISBN 0670871834 ILLUSTRATION 1995 - Present Selected clients: The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Time, Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, The New York Times, The New Republic, Communication Arts, Seattle Opera, US News and World Report, Sony Records, John Hancock Insurance, The History Channel, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Us Magazine, Neil Gaiman/Amanda Palmer, Clive Barker, The Library of Congress, Time, Discover, Viking, Knopf, Random House, Dark Horse Comics and hundreds of others. COVER ARTComic Books: Emily & The Strangers (Variant Cover #3), Written by Rob Reger, 2013, Dark Horse Comics Young Adult Books: The Perilous Gard, Written by Elizabeth Marie Pope, 2001, Houghton Mifflin; The Sherwood Ring, Written by Elizabeth Marie Pope, 2006, Houghton Mifflin; The Fated Sky, Written by Henrietta Branford, 1999, Candlewick; Queen's Own Fool, Written by Jane Yolen, 2001, Puffin Books; The Bronze Bow, Written by Elizabeth George Speare, 1997, Houghton Mifflin; The Silver Cup, Written by Constance Leeds, 2007, Viking; The Vanishing Point, Written by Louise Hawes, 2004, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; The Last Girls of Pompeii, Written by Kathryn Lasky, 2007, Viking; Peregrine, Written by Joan Elizabeth Goodman, 2000, Houghton Mifflin; Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc, Written by Polly Schoyer Brooks, 1999, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Queen Eleanor: Independent Spirit of the Medieval World, 1999, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Lost in the Labyrinth, Written by Patricia Kindl, 2002, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; The Road to Damietta, Written by Scott O'Dell, 2004, Harcourt Houghton Mifflin CDs: An Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer, The Moors, The Julliard String Quartet, Anon, Soon, Nigh SOLO ART EXHIBITS 2011, Mark Twain House and Museum, Hartford, CT 2010, Books of Wonder Animatronic Window, Manhattan , NYC 2009, Nassau County Museum of Art, Long Island, NY 2007, Staten Island Museum of Art, Staten Island, NY 2004, Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA AWARDS/HONORS American Illustration, 39, 33, 25, 23, 21, 20, 18, 17, 14 Society of Illustrators, New York City, 49, 46, 45, 42, 40, 38, 37; Los Angeles, 36, 35 Communication Arts Illustration Annuals, 45, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37; Design Annual, 38 Book Sense Children’s Pick, “The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside”, 2006/2007 Teacher’s Pick, Parent & Child Magazine, “The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside”, 2006 Top 100 Picture Books of the Year, “They Called Her Molly Pitcher”, The New York Public Library, 2002 Exceptional Book of the Year, “Little Girl in a Red Dress with Cat and Dog”, Bookman Review Syndicate, 1998 Silver Medal, The Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles, CA, 1997 Gold and Bronze Medals, The Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles, CA, 1996 Gold Medal, The Visual Club, New York, NY, 1995 LECTURES Rhode Island School of Design, RI, November, 2011 Joe's Pub, Heeb Storytelling, Live Comics Edition, 2010 Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA, October 3-8, 2004 The Museum of American Illustration, New York, NY, November 4, 2004 Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA, 1999 EXHIBITIONS JURIED The Museum of American Illustration Annual Exhibition 2004 The Museum of American Illustration Student Exhibition Competition 2005 The Museum of American Illustration Student Exhibition Competition 2003 EDUCATION B.F.A. The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley College, Cambridge, MA, 1991, Illustration (Fine Art Minor) Also studied at: New School, New York City, New York, 2015, Screenwriting, 2015 - 2016 Richmond College, Kensington Campus, London, England, Studio Art and Humanities, 1987 |
BOOK PRESS
Partial press list below. For a full list please visit cynthiavonbuhler.com
"Inside The Magical, Mystical World of Cynthia Von Buhler," feature, Enchanted Living, Autumn 2021
"Australia Fires," feature, The Washington Post, March 11, 2020
“Where Von Buhler’s Fantasies Have Free Rein”, interview, The New York Times, January 29, 2016
“Miniature Fairy Doors Are Popping Up All Over NYC”, feature, Untapped Cities, July 23, 2013
“Using A Dollhouse to Reconstruct a Murder, 77 Year later”, interview, The New York Times, March 2013
"The Countess and Her Cats at Mark Twain House", interview, NY Daily News, November 2012
“Cynthia von Buhler”, cover story, Communication Arts, March/April, 2002
“They Called Her Molly Pitcher”, book review, The New York Times, October 20, 2002
"Salman Rushdie, The Fire of Life Book Trailer, filmed at Cynthia von Buhler's Freaks! Party", October 2010
"Inside The Magical, Mystical World of Cynthia Von Buhler," feature, Enchanted Living, Autumn 2021
"Australia Fires," feature, The Washington Post, March 11, 2020
“Where Von Buhler’s Fantasies Have Free Rein”, interview, The New York Times, January 29, 2016
“Miniature Fairy Doors Are Popping Up All Over NYC”, feature, Untapped Cities, July 23, 2013
“Using A Dollhouse to Reconstruct a Murder, 77 Year later”, interview, The New York Times, March 2013
"The Countess and Her Cats at Mark Twain House", interview, NY Daily News, November 2012
“Cynthia von Buhler”, cover story, Communication Arts, March/April, 2002
“They Called Her Molly Pitcher”, book review, The New York Times, October 20, 2002
"Salman Rushdie, The Fire of Life Book Trailer, filmed at Cynthia von Buhler's Freaks! Party", October 2010