Wanda Ga'g(1893-1946)
- Writer
American writer and illustrator Wanda G'ag was born in New Ulm, MN, in
1893. She came from a creative background--her father was a painter and
decorator, her grandfather was a woodcarver--and she and her six
siblings began to write and draw at an early age. Upon graduating from
high school she was hired to teach at a small rural school. She later
received scholarships to study art in Minneapolis and then New York
City, and while studying there she managed to make a living as a
commercial artist. She often visited a friend in the city who had two
small children, and they would often ask her to tell them stories. She
would, as she later said, "tell them whatever popped into my head". She
later wrote down the stories she told them, illustrated them and
assembled them into a book, but could not find a publisher for them.
Discouraged with her lack of success, she left New York, rented a small
house in the country and "in a frenzy of freedom, drew and painted
practically everything I saw". Upon her return to New York a local
gallery bought some of those paintings and gave her her own showing.
More of her works were bought by private collectors, and this in turn
created interest in not only her artwork but also her stories, and it
wasn't long before her books "Millions of Cats", "The Funny Thing" and
"Snippy and Snappy" were published in 1928 and 1929.
In addition to her writing and illustrating, she has also translated European childrens stories into English, notably ones by the Brothers Grimm. She published her last story, "Not At All", in 1941 and died in 1945.
In addition to her writing and illustrating, she has also translated European childrens stories into English, notably ones by the Brothers Grimm. She published her last story, "Not At All", in 1941 and died in 1945.