Tinkelman Inducted into Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame

Murray Tinkelman and his wife, Carol, run the prestigious Low Residency MFA in Illustration program at the University of Hartford.

The Hartford Art School’s Low Residency MFA in Illustration program is back on campus this month, beginning its eighth year at the University – and its director, Murray Tinkelman, has just been awarded the highest honor in the field of illustration.

Tinkelman was inducted in June into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. He was one of six illustrators to be inducted this year; other 2013 inductees include the late Charles M. Schulz, creator of the iconic Peanuts comic strip.

The Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame includes some of the most renowned names in the field of illustration, including Norman Rockwell (who became the first inductee in 1958), Maxfield Parrish, Al Hirschfeld, and Maurice Sendak, to name just a few. See a list of past inductees.

“The idea of being inducted into the Hall of Fame that houses my childhood heroes—the greatest illustrators who ever lived . . . joining that same pantheon is more than I can even wrap my mind around. It is shockingly moving,” Tinkelman said. Tinkelman said he was especially honored to be in the same induction class as his favorite cartoonist, the late George Herriman, creator of the comic strip Krazy Kat.

“It’s just beyond anything I ever expected. It was thrilling,” Tinkelman said of being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Being inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame was the second major honor that Tinkelman received this spring. In May, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Kendall College of Art and Design in Michigan—becoming the first illustrator to receive an honorary degree from the well-known art school.

Tinkelman is an internationally renowned illustrator, educator, and art historian. He and his wife, Carol, brought the Low Residency MFA in Illustration program to the University of Hartford in 2006. Tinkelman had been running a similar program at Syracuse University since 1979. The program is designed for working illustrators, designers, and art educators who want to enhance their illustration skills, further their careers, and/or teach at the university level. It is the only low-residency MFA program in the country dedicated exclusively to illustration.

Every July, students come to the University of Hartford for two weeks of intensive classes taught by some of the nation’s top illustrators, several of whom have also been inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. This year, students and faculty arrived on campus on July 7 and will be working at the University through July 19.

The 17 students who will be graduating from the program on July 19 are currently exhibiting their MFA thesis work in the Joseloff Gallery. The exhibit is free and open to the public.