Walter Wick

Last updated
Walter Wick
Walter Wick 2013.jpg
Wick at the Mazza Museum in 2013
Born (1953-02-23) February 23, 1953 (age 71)
Occupation(s)Artist, photographer, writer
SpouseLinda Cheverton Wick

Walter Wick (born February 23, 1953) is an American artist and photographer best known for the elaborate images in two series of picture book activities for young children, I Spy (1992-) and Can You See What I See? (2002-), both published by Scholastic.

Contents

Early life

Wick was born in Hartford, Connecticut [ citation needed ] and grew up in rural East Granby, Connecticut. [1] His brother introduced him to photography. [1]

Wick studied photojournalism at the Paier College of Art. [1]

Career

After graduation, he opened a studio in New York. [1]

He embarked on a career as a commercial photographer and eventually shifted to photo-illustration for books and magazines. He contributed to Scholastic's Let's Find Out and Super Science series and photographed hundreds of mass-market magazine covers. [2] He also created photographic puzzles for Games magazine. [2]

In 1991, Wick began a collaboration with writer Jean Marzollo on the enormously successful I Spy search-and-find picture books. [2] Eight original titles were produced and millions of copies sold. Wick received the Boston Globe-Horn Book first prize for non-fiction for his book A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder (1997). His book Walter Wick's Optical Tricks was named one of the year's "best illustrated books" by The New York Times .

In 2003, Wick and his wife purchased an abandoned 1920 firehouse from the city of Hartford and renovated the building into an art studio. [3] [4]

Wick originally used a large-format camera for his I Spy photographs, which created 8x10 negatives. He switched to a digital camera in 2004. [2] The scenes he photographs can take anywhere from several days to several weeks to be constructed; each book Wick works on takes about a year of work to complete. [2] [3]

Wick's collection of work, Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos, and Toys in the Attic, continues to exhibit in museums across the country including the Vero Beach Museum of Art, the Shelburne Museum, and Brigham Young University Museum of Art. [1]

Personal life

Wick is married to Linda Cheverton Wick, a former photo prop stylist for magazines and cookbooks. [4]

Selected publications

Sources

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Haddock, Sharon (April 19, 2009). "Walter Wick exhibit not for anyone in a hurry". Deseret News . Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Morgan, Clancy. "Meet the photographer behind the 'I Spy' books that captured millions of readers' imaginations". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  3. 1 2 Schwalm, Andrea. "Spending Time With Walter Wick". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  4. 1 2 Span, Paula (2004-12-16). "Toys in the Attic, and Everywhere Else". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-27.