Professor John Thompson Garners Top Illustration Award

John Thompson, professor of illustration in the
School of Art and Design at the College of Visual
and Performing Arts, was recently honored
with the 2006 Hamilton King Award for the best
illustration of the year, as presented by the Society of Illustrators.
The Hamilton King Award is the highest achievement
an illustrator can receive in any year.

Each year, the Society of Illustrators recognizes the top
achievements within the field of illustration, encompassing
all genres, every medium and every range of practitioner,
from students all the way up to lifetime members.
The Society of Illustrators sponsors the Annual Exhibition
of American Illustration, a juried show with more than 5,000 entries. This year, more than 500 pieces were selected for the show from 240 artists, and two of Thompson's pieces were selected. The judges then determine the gold and silver medal winners, and one piece from the entire show is selected as the best illustration by a member of the Society -- The Hamilton King Award.

Thompson's winning illustration (above) is part of the new
children's book "The Flying Bed"
written by Newberry Award-winning author Nancy Willard.
"The Flying Bed" -- to be published in spring 2007
by Scholastic Blue Sky Press -- is set in Florence, Italy.