Mary Engelbreit
Founder & President,
Mary Engelbreit Studios, Inc.
Laureate 2006
Mary Engelbreit started drawing “from the time she could pick up a pencil,” according to her mother. After Mary longingly admired a neighbor’s basement studio, her mother crammed a desk and chair into a closet in their St. Louis home to give Mary her first “studio” at the age of 11. From that time on, Mary knew she wanted to be an artist. She taught herself to draw by studying illustrations in her mother’s vintage storybooks, including the original Raggedy Ann and Andy books by Johnny Gruelle. After graduating from Visitation Academy, Mary gained professional experience by working at an art supply store and a small advertising agency. She also held independent art showings, and even worked as an editorial cartoonist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before founding Mary Engelbreit Studios in 1986. Finally able to work for herself, she started out illustrating greeting cards and developed her unique style of combining charming, and often funny, quotes with colorful, intricate illustrations. Mary then began licensing her art for products ranging from calendars to fabric, dinnerware, stationery, and thousands of other gifts and home accents. In 1996 she founded Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion magazine, which reflects her creative approach to home décor and showcases the homes of fellow artists. Mary’s childhood dream was fully realized when she signed an agreement to illustrate books for a major children’s book publisher. Her children’s books, including illustrations of the classic poem “The Night Before Christmas” and a collection of Mother Goose rhymes, have been New York Times best sellers. Though Mary has always lived and worked in St. Louis, the universal themes she illustrates have gained her work millions of fans throughout the world.
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