I'm Gonna Paint: Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People

by Anne Broyles, Victoria Tentler-Krylov (Illustrator)

Overview

The life of visionary folk artist and labor organizer Ralph Fasanella stunningly illustrated for picture book readers.

Winner of the Silver Medal at the Society of Illustrators' Original Art Show
A Bologna Children's Book Fair 2024 Illustration Winner

When dared to jump, Ralph always took the dare. So begins this beautiful tribute to a singular artist and his tireless efforts to honor and celebrate immigrant and working-class communities through his paintings.

Born in 1914 New York City to Italian immigrants, Ralph’s youth was one of dress factories, ice deliveries, union meetings, and Momma’s stories of the Bread & Roses Strike around the dinner table. By teaching himself how to paint, Ralph discovered a new way to reach working people: he would depict their lives, their work, and American history with electric color at a grand scale.

Focusing on themes of social justice, immigrant rights, labor rights, and the dignity of working people, I’m Gonna Paint inspires to give a new generation the confidence to continue the fight for better working conditions.

Anne Broyles taps into Ralph's indomitable spirit to show his evolution as an artist, while Victoria Tentler-Krylov’s energetic art leaps off the page with wonder and homages to Ralph’s style. Meticulously researched with quotes from Ralph to underline his philosophy and approach to artmaking, the robust back matter includes reproductions of his paintings, historical photos, a timeline, a bibliography, a source notes, and much more.

A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823457380
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	11/07/2023
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	83 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Anne Broyles is a world traveler, vegan cook, hiker, art lover, avid reader, and children’s book author. Her published books for children include Arturo and the Bienvenido Feast, Arturo and the Navidad Birds, Priscilla and the Hollyhocks and Shy Mama’s Halloween, which have won International Latino Book Awards, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, and Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year. Anne is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. She lives in Portland, Oregon in a multi-generational household that also includes three cats and a dog named Clover.

Victoria Tentler-Krylov is a trained and practicing architect, as well as a children's and editorial illustrator, who grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and studied architecture and urban design at Cooper Union and Columbia University. Books she’s illustrated for children include The Cyclops of Central Park, for which she was named an Ezra Jack Keats Award Honoree. Her art has also been published in the New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and The Boston Globe. Victoria lives in New Jersey with her family.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/25/2023

A child of Italian immigrants, self-taught painter Ralph Fasanella (1914–1997) grew up to celebrate laborers in his art, as described in a telling that distills formative moments into an overview of his life and work. Spending childhood in a New York City tenement building, he pictured stories told by his mother, a dress factory worker who regularly discussed unions and workers’ rights. Later, as a Depression-era teen, Fasanella worked in garment factories and as an ice deliveryman, joining a union before going to work for one. At age 31, to lessen pain in his hands, he began drawing, then painting, learning about art by visiting museums. Hoping to reach even more working-class people through his paintings, he quit his job and, in time, became famous for his politically themed work. Broyles details Ralph’s life via an engaging narrative of the intersection between art and organizing, while Tentler-Krylov’s closely worked, watercolor-textured illustrations echo the artist’s own detailed style. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Extensive back matter concludes. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

★ "Broyles highlights the man’s ‘rambunctious,’ resilient, and independent nature. . . . Tentler-Krylov’s dynamic watercolors bring her subject to life. . . . A perfect companion to Levinson's The People's Painter."—The Horn Book, Starred Review

★ "The illustrations employ striking, vibrant colors and attention to minute details, masterfully emulating Fasanella’s own style. Readers will enjoy poring over them. . . . A very fine introduction to the life and work of a significant American craftsman."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ "For readers ready to be plunked into the underbelly of the 20th century and then uplifted by one painter’s take on its myriad social issues and politics, this is a grand start."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ "Broyles details Ralph’s life via an engaging narrative of the intersection between art and organizing, while Tentler-Krylov’s closely worked, watercolor-textured illustrations echo the artist’s own detailed style."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

From the Publisher

★ 12/01/2023

K-Gr 4—If children today could imagine a 20th-century Dickensian character who taught himself to read, went to reform school for a few years, and performed back-breaking labors until he was in his 30s, they'd come close to understanding Ralph Fasanella's story. That's when he taught himself to paint, and with the support of family members, that's how he spent the rest of his days. That his works ended up in union halls, the Smithsonian, and other exalted galleries was almost a problem for him; he believed his art, about working people, unacceptable wages, crowded working conditions, and other social justice issues he'd been aware of since childhood, was meant to be viewed by people like him. The storytelling, though dense, is compelling and breezy; Tentler-Krylov's illustrations bind this work to Fasanella's, taking from his art the vivacious colors, detail work, and a sense of city scenes that are worth revisiting again and again. Among the back matter is not only further reading, bibliography, time line, and source notes but also several of Fasanella's vibrant, intricately detailed paintings. Despite the brightest of colors, every one of them includes a social statement, something Fasanella believed could not be separated from art. VERDICT For readers ready to be plunked into the underbelly of the 20th century and then uplifted by one painter's take on its myriad social issues and politics, this is a grand start; this book could be the linchpin for an upper-elementary or even middle school class on the rise of labor unions, factory reforms, and other important movements that have not yet disappeared.—Kimberly Olson Fakih

School Library Journal

★ 2023-08-26
A self-taught painter championed the working class through his art.

Ralph Fasanella (1914-1997) was born in New York City, the son of poor Italian immigrants. His father was an ice-delivery man, and his mother, who worked in a dress factory, spoke passionately about workers’ rights and labor unions. Ralph frequently skipped school, teaching himself to read from newspapers. At age 10, owing to truancy and troublemaking, Ralph was sent to a Catholic reform school, where he remained sporadically for four years. Thereafter, he worked at various jobs and became deeply involved in the union movement. At age 31, his hands began hurting—possibly from arthritis—and a friend suggested he try drawing to alleviate the pain. Ralph taught himself to draw and paint, visiting museums to study the work of master artists. He painted laborers, street scenes, and American historic events, using vivid, jewel-like colors and filling large canvases with small, rich details, encouraging viewers to savor them and catch every nuance. Eventually, Ralph’s paintings were exhibited in major U.S. museums. This well-written, sympathetic account rightfully shines a light on a major artist who merits wider recognition. The illustrations employ striking, vibrant colors and attention to minute details, masterfully emulating Fasanella’s own style. Readers will enjoy poring over them, in addition to the several included reproductions of Fasanella’s paintings.

A very fine introduction to the life and work of a significant American craftsman. (more about Ralph, timeline, seeing American history through Fasanella’s paintings, for further reading, bibliography, source notes) (Informational picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews