DIGITAL TOUR: Jerry Pinkney: Imaginings

The Little Match Girl (1999)

When Jerry Pinkney adapted this classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, he transformed the author’s European setting to a bustling American city filled with the crowded tenements of the 1920s. Cars and carriage-filled streets, the push carts of street vendors, and the mass of colorfully clothed people shopping as they move through the city fill his vibrant images. Amidst it all, the young girl aches with cold, desperate to earn money for her impoverished family—a stark reminder of the plight that many face even in our time.

In his focus on urban life, Pinkney referenced the art of John Sloan, Robert Henri, William Glackens, and other early twentieth century painters known as The Eight and the Ashcan School, and sought out photographic images of city streets and child labor. “The texts of classic stories provide a basic story line, but historical details are often left to the artist to develop,” the artist said. In this scene, the young girl stands alone amid the bustle of the marketplace, afraid to return home because she has not sold her wares.