Esphyr Slobodkina

Esphyr Slobodkina (1908–2002) was a Russian-born American artist, author, and illustrator. She studied art in Russia and China before immigrating to the United States in 1928, where she attended the National Academy of Design. A pioneer of American abstraction, she was a founding member of the American Abstract Artists group and worked in painting, sculpture, textiles, and collage.

Slobodkina wrote and illustrated more than 24 children’s books. Her best-known work, Caps for Sale (1940), is a classic picture book about a peddler and a group of mischievous monkeys; it remains her signature published work.