Good News Bible interview

My sincere apologies for the long delay since the last post! To make up for it, I'm going to try and publish one blog every day for a week! (I did say try). Here we go with the first one!

The interview with Annie Vallotton, first published on this blog back in September 2008, has been reprinted in the latest editions of the Good News Bible! There are three editions - 'Rainbow' for children, 'New Life' for teens to young adults and 'Sunrise' for the rest of us! All three editions include the interview and some of Annie Vallotton's pictures that have never been published before! Last summer there was an exhibition of Annie's pictures on display at St

Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, London. (I know, I know, I should have blogged about it then!) I had the wonderful opportunity of seeing Annie's pictures in the flesh! This was the first time the pictures have ever been on display! It was a very grand event complete with Cellist - top marks to HarperCollins! Paula Taquet-Woolfolk came over from Paris especially for the event so it was wonderful to finally meet her. (Picture right). Paula originally interviewed Annie in Paris for the Bible illustration blog. Paula gave a little speech and shared a few memories of her meetings with Annie.

Many of the pictures were framed with the original acetate overlay complete with the red block. (see left). This was the old way of adding a tint to a picture. Some of you older artists reading this will remember using these overlays. (I certainly do!) The hand written text along the bottom of the picture says "WHILE DAVID AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL DANCED..." The interview is easy to find - they couldn't have printed it any closer to the back - it's on the very last page! It's also an edited version of the interview! But don't worry, you can still read the full one here!

Annie Valloton - At home with her Lord.

Annie Vallotton, illustrator of the iconic images in American Bible Society’s Good News Bible, died in France on December 28, 2013 at the age of 98. The publisher HarperCollins has identified Vallotton as the best-selling artist of all time, thanks largely to the success of the Good News Bible, of which more than 225 million copies have been distributed since its release in 1966.

Annie Vallotton, who was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, dedicated her life to finding ways to share the Bible’s message in a clear, simple way. In addition to the Good News Bible, Vallotton illustrated other Christian books, including Who Are You Jesus? and From the Apple to the Moon. From the American Bible Societies website

We sent Annie a christmas card which included all of the recent comments that readers have left on the 'Annie Vallotton interview' post. Annie replied via her sister-in-law Heidi, (as Annie was getting weak). They sent us a lovely card and letter on the 17th December - she passed away just over a week later. Our condolences go to the Vallotton family.

There are some exciting things about to happen within the next month or so regarding Annie's life and work which I am not at liberty to mention just yet. As soon as I get the 'thumbs up' from HarperCollins I will tell you all about it!

If you would like to leave a comment/tribute on this post, I will gladly send them on to the family. If you haven't read the full interview with Annie yet, Click here. She was a very special lady.

Annie Vallotton

21 February 1915 - 28 December 2013.

At home with her Lord.