Byard, Carole (1941-2017), was an African American artist and illustrator of children’s books. Her illustrations are noted for their sympathetic portrayals of African and African American life and culture. Byard often used charcoal and graphite in her illustrations to express “a glow to the faces” with very dark skins. She also used African cloth in many of her illustrations. In addition to her illustrations, Byard exhibited paintings, graphic art works, and sculptures.
In 1972, Byard received a Ford Foundation grant that allowed her to travel to Africa to attend an international Black arts conference in Nigeria. Her African experiences influenced her realistic pictures of African people in traditional cultural or historical settings.
Byard won the Coretta Scott King Award for illustration in 1978 for the book Africa Dream (1977), and in 1980 for the book Cornrows (1979). The Coretta Scott King Awards honor African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books that portray the Black experience for young readers. In Africa Dream, an African American child dreams of the Africa of long ago. There, she sees animals, shops in a marketplace, and visits a village where her grandfather welcomes her. The text was written by Eloise Greenfield. Byard illustrated the book with rich charcoal drawings. Cornrows portrays Mama and Great-Grammaw describing African traditions as they weave the striking cornrow patterns of Africa into the children’s hair. The text was written by Camille Yarbrough.
Byard began her illustration career with Willy (1971), written by Helen King. Her other children’s books include Three African Tales (1979), written by Adjai Robinson; The Black Snowman (1989), written by Phil Mendez; Working Cotton (1992), written by Sherley Anne Williams; and Angel City (2006), written by Tony Johnston.
Carole Marie Byard was born on July 22, 1941, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She studied art at the Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia from 1961 to 1963. In 1968, she received a degree from the Phoenix School of Design in New York City. Byard taught art at several art schools. Beginning in 1988, she taught for several years at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. Byard died on Jan. 11, 2017.
