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Remembering and Celebrating Artist and Author Nonny Hogrogian (1932-2024) | |
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This installment of Treasures of the Mardigian Library serves a dual function: celebrating the incredible work of the artist and writer Nonny Hogrogian while also mourning her death on May 9 at the age of 92. As admirers of Hogrogian’s art, we regret deeply that this much-deserved tribute comes after her passing.
| Shown above: Nonny Hogrogian and David Kherdian at NAASR in 2004 | |
Nonny Hogrogian was a two-time winner of children’s literature’s highest honor, the Caldecott Medal, and a prolific artist, illustrator, and writer who was also well known for her collaborative work with the poet, memoirist, and translator David Kherdian, to whom she was married since 1971, and who survives her.
Hogrogian received her first Caldecott medal in 1966 for Always Room for One More, written by Sorche Nic Leodhas and based on a Scottish folk song; her second was for the brilliant One Fine Day, based on an Armenian folk tale, for which she was the author and illustrator. She also received a Caldecott Honor for The Contest (1977), also based on an Armenian folk tale. In addition to her copious works as an illustrator and children’s author, she wrote a fine memoir, Finding My Name (2004).
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Nonny Hogrogian was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1932 to Mugerdich and Rakel [Rachel] (Ansoorian) Hogrogian. She studied art at Hunter College in New York City and worked in publishing before becoming a freelance artist. She met David Kherdian in 1971 when she designed the cover for his poetry collection Homage to Adana, and they married the same year. As individuals and as a team, over the next 50+ years they produced a remarkable body of work—children’s books, poetry, memoirs, translations, essays, and more. | |
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A great deal more can be said about Nonny Hogrogian—the vitality and joy with which her art teems, her kindness and decency as a person. She leaves behind a remarkable legacy through her works of art. Her illustrations are a testament to her creativity and skill, characterized by their unique and diverse styles. Whether through intricate line drawings, striking black-and-white compositions, expressive watercolors, or woodcut designs, she vividly portrayed characters and stories. Her warm color palette and organic lines have pleased young audiences and adults alike. Each piece she created reflects her passion for storytelling and artistry, leaving an indelible mark on all who encountered her illustrations. For the purposes of this feature we will for the most part let her pictures speak for themselves rather than provide detailed descriptions of the books. Her work is a treasure, and not only a treasure of our library.
The selections below, which are by no means a comprehensive representation of Nonny Hogrogian's huge output, are roughly grouped in three sections: Armenian-themed works, book covers for David Kherdian's works, and other publications. There is, of course, some overlap among these sections.
Above: flyer for "An Evening with David Kherdian, Nonny Hogrogian, and Virginia Tashjian," St. James Armenian Church, Watertown, MA, December 5, 1980. From the NAASR Mardigian Library.
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Full-length obituaries of Hogrogian can be found here and here. | |
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Title: Once There Was and Was Not: Armenian Tales Retold
Author: Virginia A. Tashjian, based on stories by Hovhannes Toumanian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1966
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Above and below: some of the vivid drawings that grace Once There Was and Was Not and Three Apples Fell from Heaven, collections of Armenian tales retold by Virginia Tashjian | |
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Title: Three Apples Fell from Heaven: Armenian Tales Retold
Author: Virginia A. Tashjian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1971
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: One Fine Day
Author: Nonny Hogrogian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Macmillan, 1971
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Rooster Brother
Author: Nonny Hogrogian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Macmillan, 1974
NAASR Mardigian Library, from the collection of Abraham Krikorian and Eugene Taylor
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Title: The Contest
Author: adapted by Nonny Hogrogian.
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Greenwillow Books, 1976
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Pigs Never See the Stars: Proverbs from the Armenian
Author: translated by David Kherdian
Illustrator: woodcuts by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Aurora, OR: Two Rivers Press, 1982
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: The Golden Bracelet
Author: retold by David Kherdian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Holiday House, 1998
NAASR Mardigian Library
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NAASR is honored to have received as a gift from Nonny Hogrogian and David Kherdian the original painting David of Sassoun that adorns the cover of the book. It is a framed painting on canvas measuring 22" x 28". | |
Nonny Hogrogian's personal and professional partnership with David Kherdian endured for more than 50 years. Several examples of their joint work are included above; Hogrogian also provided covers and illustrations for many of Kherdian's volumes of poetry and memoirs. | |
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Title: Homage to Adana
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Fresno: The Giligia Press, 1971
NAASR Mardigian Library, from the collection of John A.C. Greppin
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Title: Looking Over Hills
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Lyme Center, NH: The Giligia Press, 1972
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: A David Kherdian Sampler
Author: edited with an introduction by Moses Yanes
Illustrator: cover drawing by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Boulder Creek, CA: Community of Friends Special Supplement, 1974
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Poems Here and Now
Author: edited by David Kherdian
Illustrator: linoleum cuts by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Greenwillow Books, 1976
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: I Remember Root River
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: cover design by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press, 1978
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Finding Home
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: cover design by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Greenwillow Books, 1981
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Place of Birth
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: cover design by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Portland, OR: Breitenbush Books, 1983
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Root River Run
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1984
NAASR Mardigian Library, from the collection of Manoog S. Young
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Title: A Song for Uncle Harry
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Philomel Books, 1989
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: The Dividing River: The Meeting Shore
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: cover design by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Santa Fe, NM: Lotus Press, 1990
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Asking the River: A Novel
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: cover design by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Orchard Books, 1993
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Juna’s Journey
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Philomel Books, 1993
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: My Racine
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: cover by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Forkroads Press, 1994
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Seeds of Light: Poems from a Gurdjieff Community
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: woodcuts by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: McMinnville, OR: Stopinder Books, 2002
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Living in Quiet: New & Selected Poems
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: cover woodcut by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Cumberland, ME: Deerbrook Editions, 2013
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Root River Return
Author: David Kherdian
Illustrator: cover art by Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Mt. Desert, ME: Beech Hill Publishing Co., 2014
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: About Wise Men and Simpletons: Twelve Tales from Grimm
Author: Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm; translated by Elizabeth Shub
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Macmillan, 1971
NAASR Mardigian Library, gift of Miles Mamigonian
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Title: Carrot Cake
Author: Nonny Hogrogian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Greenwillow Books, 1977
NAASR Mardigian Library
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Title: Noah’s Ark
Author: Nonny Hogrogian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986
NAASR Mardigian Library, gift of Miles Mamigonian
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Title: The Tiger of Turkestan
Author: told by Nonny Hogrogian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Co., 2002
NAASR Mardigian Library
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We conclude with two very different books that we take to be among Hogrogian's most personal works: The Armenian Cookbook, by her mother Rachel and which is dedicated to "the Hogrogians, the Ansoorians, the Boyajians, the Tashjians, the Manoukians, the Vartenissians, and for all their 'ians' to come"; and her memoir Finding My Name, which, she writes, is "the story of my first thirteen years, which were for me, the years that determined so much of what I would become and am." | |
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Title: The Armenian Cookbook
Author: Rachel Hogrogian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: New York: Atheneum, 1971
NAASR Mardigian Library
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The Armenian Cookbook, by Nonny's mother Rachel, features recipes from Aintab and Erzinjan, reflecting the origins of Nonny's parents. They are divided into nine sections including anousheghen (desserts), tsoug, hav yev meeseghen (fish, fowl and meat), and khumoreghen (breads and pastries). Each section starts with a beautiful line drawing, as seen below. The illustrations on the endpapers are also a celebration of Armenian food and community. | |
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Title: Finding My Name
Author: Nonny Hogrogian
Illustrator: Nonny Hogrogian
Publication Information: Chatham, New York: Tavnon Press, 2004
NAASR Mardigian Library
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NAASR's Treasures of the Mardigian Library is compiled by Ani Babaian and Marc A. Mamigonian. | |
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