Artist, Author Stephen Huneck Dies at 61
RSSBy Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal, 02/03/2010
Stephen Huneck, a wood carving artist, furniture maker, and children’s book author and illustrator died January 7 from a self-inflected gun wound. He was 61 years old and lived in St. Johnsbury, VT.
Huneck, who was dealing with depression, had been despondent over having to lay off some employees at his art business, says his wife Gwendolyn.
He was an animal lover who used his own dog Sally as the model for the colorful woodcut illustrations that appeared in his children’s books. Sally made her debut on the New York Times bestseller list in Sally Goes to the Beach (2000) and received a Parents Choice Award. It was followed by six other Sally books including Sally Goes to the Vet (2004, both Abrams), which is also available in an artist limited edition for $350.
Rita Hunt Smith of Hershey Public Library wrote in a review of his work that Huneck’s “woodcut illustrations provide the right balance of simple lines and details to draw in children”
“We are saddened at the sudden loss of Stephen Huneck, our good friend, and an extraordinary artist and humanitarian,” says Steve Tager, senior vice president and publisher of Abrams. “As his longtime publisher we are honored to release his [eighth and] final children’s book this spring, Sally’s Great Balloon Adventure, and his final book for adults this fall, Even Bad Dogs Go to Heaven.”
Born in Columbus, OH, on October 8, 1948 and raised in Sudbury, MA, Huneck suffered from dyslexia as a child. He later attended the Massachusetts College of Art.
In addition to his book illustrations, his artwork included dog themed furniture and paintings. In 1997, he began work on his most famous work, the Dog Chapel, a hand-built church in Vermont to which dogs and their owners can go for quiet reflection and spiritual renewal. The chapel, which took three years to built and appeared in Architectural Digest online in July 2009, included a winged Labrador atop the steeple, dog-themed stained glass windows, and hand carved wooden dogs lining the pews.
In addition to his wife, Huneck is survived by his parents, five sisters and a brother.
