Corr, Christopher 1955-

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Corr, Christopher 1955-

Personal

Born 1955, in London, England. Education: Manchester Polytechnic, B.F.A. (graphic design); Royal College of Art, M.A. Hobbies and other interests: Travel.

Addresses

Home—London, England. Agent—Illustration, Ltd., 2 Brooks Ct., Cringle St., London SW8 5BX, England. E-mail—chris@christophercorr.com.

Career

Artist, animator, and writer. Freelance travel artist and illustrator, beginning mid-1980s. Commercial clients include Qantas Airlines, Windstar Cruises, Body Shop, IKEA, National Aids Trust, UNICEF, and London Transport. Exhibitions: Works exhibited at galleries, including Curwen, Cadogan, and Berkeley Square galleries, London, England; Musée d'art Naif, France; and Castor & Pollux Gallery, Brighton, England.

Awards, Honors

Leverhulme travelling scholarship, 1979; Chelsea Arts Club Graphics Prize, Lloyd Bank Printmaking scholarship, D &A D Silver Award, and Association of Illustrators Silver Award; Print magazine Award for Design Excellence, 2007.

Writings

ILLUSTRATOR

Caroline Plaisted, Love Lines: Every Girl's Guide to First Love, Element (New York, NY), 2000.

Lois Rock, I Wonder Why?, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2001.

Fiona Waters, reteller, The Arabian Nights, Pavilion (London, England), 2002.

(With others) John Agard and Grace Nichols, editors, Under the Moon and Over the Sea: A Collection of Caribbean Poems, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

Michel Tournier, Friday and Robinson, Walker Books (London, England), 2003.

Matthew Hickey, Ebby Meets Felicity, Pavilion Children's Books (London, England), 2004.

Claude Helft, On Voyage, Desclee de Brouwer, 2004.

Terron Schaefer, Cashmere If You Can: The Story of Wawa Hohhot, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

Stella Blackstone, My Granny Went to Market: A Round-the-World Counting Rhyme, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Laurie Krebs, Off We Go to Mexico!: An Adventure in the Sun, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2006.

Shenaaz Nanji, Indian Tales: A Barefoot Collection, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

Whole World (song; with CD sung by Fred Penner), Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

Tomato, a Story about Cuba, Yeowon Media (Korea), 2008.

Simone de Beauvoir, The Mandarins, Folio Society, 2008.

Contributor of illustrations to anthologies, including Michael Rosen, editor, South and North, East and West, Walker Books (London, England), 1992; and Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories, Walker Books (London, England), 2004.

OTHER

Contributor of essays to periodicals, including London Independent.

Sidelights

The colorful, naive-styled paintings of British artist Christopher Corr are inspired by his many journeys throughout the world. A graduate of London's Royal College of Art, Corr has gained renown for his travel illustrations, and has worked for such organizations as Quantas airlines, London Transport, and Windstar Cruiselines. Humanitarian organizations have also benefited from Corr's energetic, sun-filled paintings; he created art for the 1996 World Aids Day campaign, designed a 1998 commemorative stamp honoring the Peace-Keeping troops for Britain's Royal Mail, and designed art for UNICEF.

Born in 1955, Corr grew up in London and attended Manchester Polytechnic where he studied graphic design. In 1979 he was awarded a Leverhulme traveling scholarship that allowed him to study in the United States. After completing his master's degree at the Royal College of Art, he began working as a commercial artist. A trip to India in the mid-1980s was one of his first major job-related trips.

In addition to his commercial work, Corr also creates picture-book art, and his work can be seen in Laurie Krebs' Off We Go to Mexico!: An Adventure in the Sun, Shenaaz Nanji's Indian Tales: A Barefoot Collection, and a verse anthology titled Under the Moon and Over the Sea: A Collection of Caribbean Poems. Reviewing Nanji's eight-story collection for Booklist, Linda Perkins wrote that Corr's images "pick up story elements, flame the narrative, and parade throughout the pages." The artwork he contributes to Off We Go to Mexico! is "inspired by the festive colors and distinctive iconography of Mexican folk crafts," according to Jennifer Mattson, another Booklist critic, and in School Library Journal Melissa Christy Buron concluded that the artist's "enchanting folk-art illustrations give a true taste of the beauty, color, and variety of Mexican culture."

Corr also brings to life a traditional American spiritual, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," in the pages of Whole World, a picture book accompanied by a music CD featuring Fred Penner. With art focusing on the relationship between mankind and nature, Corr's "bright, lively interactive picture book makes a strong call for conservation," according to Booklist contributor Hazel Rochman. Rochman deemed Whole World "a playful celebration of diversity," while June Wolfe wrote in School Library Journal that Corr's "joyful pictures illuminate the wonder of our world."

"It's really important that I don't just do pictures that are commercial," Corr told London Independent on Sunday contributor Liz Hoggard in discussing his career as an artist. "I love going out and drawing. You meet such interesting people who tell you their stories. And I like that contact. It's an old-fashioned thing to do. Whenever I travel, I go into another gear and start looking for stories."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, March-April, 2003, review of Under the Moon and Over the Sea: A Collection of Caribbean Poems, p. 66.

Booklist, May 15, 2001, Lauren Peterson, review of I Wonder Why, p. 1760; April 1, 2005, Julie Cummins, review of My Granny Went to Market: A Round-the-World Counting Rhyme; March 1, 2006, Jennifer Mattson, review of Off We Go to Mexico!: An Adventure in the Sun, p. 95; April 15, 2007, Hazel Rochman, review of Whole World, p. 47; November 15, 2007, Linda Perkins, review of Indian Tales: A Barefoot Collection, p. 41.

Independent on Sunday (London, England), November 10, 2002, Liz Hoggard, "Just the Ticket" (profile), p. 37.

School Library Journal, March, 2000, Elaine Baran, review of Love Lines: Every Girl's Guide to First Love, p. 260; August, 2001, Marlene Gawron, review of I Wonder Why?, p. 158; February, 2003, Kathleen Whalin, review of Under the Moon and Over the Sea, p. 126; July, 2005, Holly T. Sneeringer, review of My Granny Went to Market, p. 65; April, 2006, Melissa Christy Buron, review of Off We Go to Mexico!, p. 127; April, 2007, June Wolfe, review of Whole World, p. 120.