Jill McElmurry

McElmurry was born in Los Angeles, California^[2] and moved to Taos, New Mexico with her family as a child, where they stayed for six years.^[3] She came from a family of artists, including her father, a character designer for film companies including Walt Disney; her mother, a fashion illustrator; and her grandfather, an RKO Pictures scenic painter.^[4] McElmurry studied briefly at SUNY Purchase and at the School of Visual Arts in New York.^[1]

She was the illustrator of numerous books for children, including the Little Blue Truck series written by Alice Schertle and the self-penned Mad About Plaid.^[1][5] Her style features detailed gouache paintings with distinctive characters.^[6] As a fine art painter, McElmurry initially worked in editorial illustration and later became known for her landscape paintings of New Mexico.^[3]

McElmurry lived with her husband in Taos and in Good Dog Island, Minnesota until her death from breast cancer on August 3, 2017.^[1]

• Jill McElmurry at the Library of Congress, with 28 library catalog records