Doris Burn Artwork and Manuscripts
XOE_CPNWS0343
Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Building
808 25th St
Bellingham, WA, 98225-9123
360 650 7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Collection materials are in English.
9.0 linear feet
approximately 1950-2012
1955-1974
This collection documents the work of children's author and illustrator Doris Burn (1923-2011), author of titles including the award-winning
Andrew Henry's Meadow (1965), and a long-time resident of the San Juan Islands of Washington State. The collection contains a rich body of original artwork by Doris Burn, as well as published works and draft or unpublished manuscripts.
Collection materials are in English, and also include some examples of published works issued in translation in Japanese and Korean.
Burn, Doris
This collection is subject to use and publication restrictions: please contact the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections for more information. Copyright for this collection remains with the Donor, and all requests to duplicate, publish or publically display collection materials will be referred by the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies to the Donor or Donor's agent. Agreements regarding royalties and/or revenues resulting from commercial reprinting of the Property will be negotiated between the Donor and requesting parties.
Biographical Note
Doris (Wernstedt) Burn was a United States children's author and illustrator, and long-time resident of the San Juan islands of Washington State. She was born in Portland in 1923 to parents Lage and Adele (Dotty) Wernstedt - Lage was a noted surveyer, cartographer and photographer for the U.S. Forest Service, whose work included surveys of the Cascade ranges and Pasayten Wilderness.
Doris Wernstedt attended Grant High School in Portland, and later the Universities of Washington, Oregon State and Hawaii. Her later artist and author statements frequently reference her childhood dream to live on an island: the Wernstedts purchased land on Waldron island in 1934, where they built a summer cabin, and forged close friendships with island residents including the writer June Burn and her family. Doris Wernstedt married South (Robin) Burn - the younger son of June and Farrar - at the end of World War II. Following completion of her studies, they settled at Fishery Point on Waldron island. Doris and South Burn had four children together (Mark, Robin Skye, Cameron and Lisa). The couple separated in 1955, though would remain close friends.
Burn held a life-long dream of becoming a children's book illustrator and author. In 1956, shortly following the birth of her youngest child, she travelled to New York City with a portfolio of drawings to show to publishers. The response that Burn received encouraged her to continue writing and drawings on her return to Waldron island. Her children recall her working late into the night by kerosene lamp (Waldron island had no electricity) after they had gone to bed.
Burn's first published work,
Andrew Henry's Meadow, was issued by Coward-McCann in 1965, and won the Washington Governor’s Art Award in 1966. During the 1960s and 1970s, Doris Burn authored or illustrated a total of eleven published works. She later moved to Oakland, California, before returning to reside in Washington (State) - first to care for her elderly mother on Guemes Island, and finally in Bellingham. By the time of her death in 2011, Doris Burn’s best-known work,
Andrew Henry's Meadow, had been republished by San Juan Publishing Company (2005), and her books and illustrations have continued to gain recognition as children’s classics. Philomel Books (a division of Penguin’s Young Readers Group) republished
Andrew Henry's Meadow in Legacy Edition in 2012. This work has now been issued in Danish, Japanese and Korean language versions, and other titles illustrated by Burn also translated for overseas publication.
The collection documents the work of children's author and illustrator Doris Burn, long-time resident of the San Juan islands of Washington State. A gift of the Burn family and Doris Burn Legacy LLC, the collection contains first edition copies of works written or illustrated by Burn (as well as reissued or translated editions), draft and unpublished manuscripts and original artwork. The collection includes page illustrations for Burn's published works including
Andrew Henry's Meadow,
The Summerfolk,
My Old Tree and
We Were Tired of Living in a House, as well as jacket separations for select works. Unpublished materials include the portfolio that Burn took to publishers in New York City in 1956 (as she began in earnest to pursue her career as an illustrator), sketchbooks, a manuscript for "Scarpo", and illustrations and text for "The Horrible Haircut". This is a rich body of work created by and documenting the creative process of an artist and writer who sought specifically to engage with the needs, interests, and creativity of a younger audience.
The collection is open to the public for research (reproduction and publication restrictions apply).
A collection of Doris Burn family papers is also archived at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies at Western Washington University. Please contact the repository for more information.
Related collections at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies include the South Burn Papers, the June and Farrar Burn Papers, and the Lage Wernstedt Photographs.
Doris Burn Artwork and Manuscripts, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.
About Harmful Language and ContentTo learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content
The collection was donated to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in 2015 as a gift of the Burn Family, via the Doris Burn Legacy, LLC.
This collection is organized in accordance with the following series arrangement: Series I. Published Works; Series II. Manuscripts; Series III. Drawings/Illustrations
Burn, Doris--Archives
Children's literature--20th century--History--Sources
Women Artists--Northwest, Pacific
Women Artists--Washington (State)
Women authors, American--Washington (State)--History--Sources
Fine Arts
Literature
Children and Youth
Washington (State)
Series I
Published Books
Books Written and Illustrated by Doris Burn
Andrew Henry's Meadow (Coward-McCann. Inscribed first edition, no jacket cover)
1/1
1965
Andrew Henry's Meadow (Coward-McCann. First edition, inscribed by author for her mother)
1/2
1965
Andrew Henry's Meadow (Philomel edition, inscribed)
1/3
2012
Andrew Henry's Meadow (Korean language edition)
1/4
2012
Andrew Henry's Meadow (Japanese language edition. Tokyo: Iwanamishoten)
1/5
2015
The Summerfolk (Coward-McCann. First Edition, inscribed)
1/6
1968
The Tale of Lazy Lizard Canyon (G.P. Putnam's. First edition, inscribed by author for her mother)
1/7
1976
Books Illustrated by Doris Burn
We Were Tired of Living in a House. Written by Liesel Moak Skorpen, illustrated by Doris Burn (Coward-McCann. First Edition, inscribed by illustrator for her mother)
2
1969
We Were Tired of Living in a House. Written by Liesel Moak Skorpen and illustrated by Doris Burn (Japanese language edition. Tokyo: Horupushuppan)
2
2014
Hudden and Dudden and Donald O'Neary. Adapted by Joseph Jacobs, illustrated by Doris Burn (Coward-McCann. First Edition, inscribed by illustrator for her mother and Walt)
2
1968
Tappy. Written by Robert Nathan, illustrated by Doris Burn (Knopf. First Edition)
2
1968
My Old Tree. Written by Liesel Moak Skorpen, illustrated by Doris Burn (Coward-McCann. First Edition, inscribed)
2
1970
Christina Katerina & the Box. Written by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Doris Burn (Putnam & Grosset. First Edition)
2
1971
Christina Katerina & the Box. Written by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Doris Burn (Paperback edition)
2
1971
Christina Katerina & the Box. Written by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Doris Burn (Japanese edition published by Kaisei-sha)
2
2014
Phipps. Written by Liesel Moak Skorpen, illustrated by Doris Burn. (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. First edition, inscribed by illustrator for her mother)
2
1972
Christina Katerina & The First Annual Grand Ballet. Written by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Doris Burn (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. First Edition, inscribed by illustrator for her mother)
2
1973
When I First Came to this Land. By Oscar Brand, illustrated by Doris Burn (G.B. Putnam’s. First Edition, inscribed by illustrator for her mother)
2
1974
Books Written and Illustrated by Other Authors
Tillman's Treehouse. Meredith Beach Olson (Glenhaven Publications)
2
1997
Series II
Manuscripts
3/1
Andrew Henry's Meadow (original manuscript. Two typed, annotated copies)
undated (approximately 1965)
The Summerfolk manuscripts (two typed copies, one with annotations)
3/2
undated (approximately 1968)
Hudden & Dudden & Donald O'Neary manuscript (typed, annotated)
3/3
undated (approximately 1968)
The Tale of Lazy Lizard Canyon (photocopy of text, no illustrations)
3/4
undated
"Scarpo" (unpublished manuscript)
3/5 - 3/6
Series III
Drawings/illustrations
Page Illustrations
Andrew Henry's Meadow
4
approximately 1965
The Summerfolk
5
approximately 1968
The Summerfolk--Dummy
3/10
approximately 1968
Hudden & Dudden & Donald O'Neary
5
approximately 1968
We Were Tired of Living in a House (2 four-flap enclosures)
6
approximately 1969
My Old Tree
7
approximately 1970
When I First Came To This Land (title page illustration)
8
approximately 1974
Book Jacket Illustrations
Andrew Henry's Meadow
4
approximately 1965
The Summerfolk
8
approximately 1968
Tappy
9
1968
We Were Tired of Living in a House
8
1969
My Old Tree (final cover jacket, three copies)
3/11
undated (circa 1970)
Unpublished artwork
undated
Portfolio
9
undated, approximately 1950s
"The Horrible Haircut" (Unpublished)
7
undated
Doodles
3/7
undated
Sketchbook--Green Cover
3/8
undated
Sketches from "The Golden Notebook"
3/9
undated