Carl Burger Papers

Carl V. Burger was born June 18, 1888 in Maryville, Tennessee to Joseph and Elizabeth Knox Burger. He attended Maryville (TN) College and Stanford University, but received a Bachelor of Archeology from Cornell University in 1912. He continued his artistic studies at the School of The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for three years. He married Margaret Rothery in 1920, and they had one son, Knox.

Burger worked for the Boston Post as an illustrator and political cartoonist before serving in the US Army during World War I, where he advanced to the rank of Captain. From 1917 to 1920 he organized and directed the American Expeditionary Forces School of Painting in France. After the war, he served as Art Director for the advertising firms N.W. Ayer & Sons and Edwin Bird Wilson, Inc., and was also the art director for the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. during World War II.

Burger illustrated his own works, as well as books and magazine articles for other authors. He was known for his depictions of both animals and the natural world, most notably his illustrations for The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford and Newbery honor books Old Yeller and Little Rascal. He also painted murals at the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium.

Carl Burger passed away in December of 1967 at his home in Pleasantville, New York.

Sources:

"Carl V. Burger, 79, Illustrator and a Writer on Wildlife, Dies," N.Y. Times (Dec. 31, 1967).

Guide to the Carl Burger Papers. Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Retrieved 2017-04-25.