Symeon Shimin

Born in Astrakhan, Russia, in 1902, Symeon Shimin immigrated to the United States at the age of ten. While living in New York, he apprenticed with a commercial artist at sixteen years old, took night classes at Cooper Union, and studied with George Luks for a period of two years. Beginning in 1929, Shimin traveled to France and Spain for two years to study the paintings of Old Master artists such as El Greco and Goya. After painting murals for the Department of Justice Building in Washington, D.C., and the U. S. Post Office in Tonawanda, NY, Shimin established a successful career as a book illustrator, illustrating over 50 books for children over his lifetime.