Kinuko Y. Craft
Kinuko Y. Craft is one of the most widely respected and well known fantasy artists in the World today. Her past commissions have included paintings for book covers of the who’s who of well known fantasy authors, opera posters, fairy tale books as well as covers for almost every major national magazine. During her storied career she has become known for meticulous attention to detail, a passionate love of fine art and a deep knowledge of art history.
Kinuko Y. Craft’s artwork has been widely exhibited and is now in private collections throughout the United States, Europe and the Far East. It can also be found in public collections at The National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington DC, The Cornish Colony Museum in Windsor, VT, The Museum of American Illustration in New York City, The National Geographic Society and dozens of corporate collections.
– The Metropolitan Museum of Art Curator Shinichi Doi.
About Kinuko Y. Craft
Kinuko Y. Craft’s artistic journey began in her native Japan, where she honed her skills at the prestigious Kanazawa Municipal College of Fine and Industrial Art. After immigrating to the United States in the early 1960s, she furthered her studies at the Art Institute of Chicago, mastering the realms of design and illustration.
For decades, Craft’s singular talents have graced the pages of the most esteemed publications worldwide – from Time and Newsweek to National Geographic and The New York Times. Her imaginative cover art has lent an enduring mystique to the works of celebrated authors, while her evocative editorial illustrations have captivated readers across diverse genres.
Yet Craft’s creative ambitions have extended far beyond the editorial sphere. She has lent her visionary touch to a multitude of realms, crafting enchanting fantasy book jackets, striking poster designs, and beloved children’s picture books that transport young audiences to realms of pure wonder. Honored time and again by professional art societies, Craft’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions, guest lectures, and workshops at prestigious institutions nationwide.
Throughout her celebrated career, Kinuko Y. Craft has remained firmly rooted in the philosophy that art serves as a portal to the fantastical – a means of channeling the dreams, memories, and archetypes that reside within the collective human psyche. Her timeless imagery, imbued with a richly layered symbolism, invites us to lose ourselves in realms where the veil between the mundane and the mystical is lifted, if only for a fleeting moment.
