Imogen: The Life and Work of Imogen Cunningham

by Elizabeth Partridge, Yuko Shimizu (Illustrator)

Overview

A picture book biography of the iconic photographer Imogen Cunningham by National Book Award finalist Elizabeth Partridge.

Imogen Cunningham loved to observe the world. She noticed the colors in the woods outside her house and how light and shadows moved between the trees. She tried to capture this beauty on paper with pencils, but something was missing. One day she read about a woman in Paris who earned a living as a photographer, and she knew she was meant to do the same. With the support of her loving father, she then began her journey to become one of the most important photographers in America.

The life of iconic photographer Imogen Cunningham is brought vividly to life by National Book Award finalist Elizabeth Partridge, who also happens to be Cunningham’s granddaughter. With stunning illustrations by Caldecott Honor winner Yuko Shimizu, Imogen captures the passion of the creative process with a unique and intimate perspective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781984835185
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/26/2025
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.81(w) x 10.75(h) x 0.35(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth Partridge is the author of Woody Guthrie: This Land was Made for You and Me, which was a National Book Award finalist, and John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth, which won the Michael L. Printz Honor. Her other honors include the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and the Robert F. Sibert Medal. She lives in Oakland, California with her family.
Visit her at ElizabethPartridge.com and follow her on Instagram @Elizabeth.Partridge.

Yuko Shimizu is the illustrator of the Caldecott Honor-winning picture book The Cat Man of Aleppo. She is a two-time Hugo Award nominee, and has earned more than fifteen medals from the Society of Illustrators. Her work has appeared in many publications including TIME, The New Yorker, and The New York Times, and she has collaborated with the Smithsonian Museum and the Library of Congress. She lives in New York City.
Visit her at YukoArt.com and follow her on social media @YukoArt.

Editorial Reviews

★ "Partridge's biography is artistic in itself, offering snapshots of key transitional moments in a long life." —BCCB, starred review

"A solidly told story about an accomplished artist's beginnings." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2025-05-16
Award-winning author Partridge presents a cradle-to-grave biography of her grandmother, the iconic photographer Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976).

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Imogen strove to capture the essence of the nearby woods through her drawings and paintings. With her father’s encouragement (“He paid 35 cents for a paint set”), she persisted until she discovered photography. She ordered a camera and taught herself to use it, eventually building a darkroom with her father’s help. In photography, she found a way to express “all the feelings she carried deep inside her.” Imogen photographed friends, opened a studio, experimented with double negatives, and went on to become world famous, inspiring young women “to follow their dreams and earn a living as well.” Caldecott Honor–winning illustrator Shimizu’s sepia-toned spreads are an apt match for the subject matter, conveying the effervescent joy of making art and pairing well with Partridge’s plainly written text. Most compelling is Partridge’s author’s note, where she offers more intimate details of growing up with Imogen. Readers will find insights on Imogen’s artistic sensibility, expressed in her own words (“I don’t hunt for things…I just wait till something strikes me”), and her evolution as a street and celebrity photographer.

A solidly told story about an accomplished artist’s beginnings. (archival photographs, end notes, timeline)(Picture-book biography. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews