Newbery Medal (John Newbery Medal)
1 appearances
-
Edition 6 (1927) Winner
Will James
ウィル・ジェイムズ
Will James
Aliases:
Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault / William Roderick James
Pen Names:
Will James（Professional name used as author and artist）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1892-06-06 （Saint-Nazaire-d'Acton, Quebec, Canada）
- Died
- 1942-09-03 （Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States） age 50
- Nationality
- Canadian, American
- Languages
- French, English
- Residence History
- Saint-Nazaire-d'Acton, Quebec - birthplace → Val Marie, Saskatchewan - early years → Reno, Nevada - early career → San Francisco, California - art studies → Washoe Valley, Nevada - residence and writing → Pryor Creek and Billings, Montana - later life
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Children's writer, Artist, Illustrator
- Active Years
- 1922-1942
- Influenced By
- Charles Marion Russell, Maynard Dixon, Harold Von Schmidt
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California School of Fine Arts (evening classes) | — | — | — | 1919（夜間クラス） | United States |
| Yale University | — | — | — | 短期間在籍（途中退学） | United States |
California School of Fine Arts (evening classes)
Period:
1919（夜間クラス）
Country:
United States
Took evening classes while pursuing art work
Yale University
Period:
短期間在籍（途中退学）
Country:
United States
Enrolled briefly but was ill-suited for academics
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Newbery Medal | Smoky the Cowhorse | — | American Library Association / Association for Library Service to Children | Winner |
| 1991 | Nevada Writers Hall of Fame | — | — | University of Nevada, Reno (associated) | Inducted |
| 1992 | Hall of Great Westerners (National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum) | — | — | National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum | Inducted |
Newbery Medal
1927
Work:
Smoky the Cowhorse
Organization:
American Library Association / Association for Library Service to Children
Result:
Winner
Nevada Writers Hall of Fame
1991
Organization:
University of Nevada, Reno (associated)
Result:
Inducted
Hall of Great Westerners (National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum)
1992
Organization:
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
Result:
Inducted
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Smoky the Cowhorse
1926 Western (children's literature) 224 pagesFollows Smoky, a mouse-colored horse, from birth on the range through capture, service in rodeos and on ranches, and into old age; explores the bond between humans and animals with realistic depiction.
human-animal bondcoming of age and adversitywildness vs. tamingredemption and recovery
Adaptations
- [Film] Smoky (1933) (1933)
- [Film] Smoky (1946) (1946)
Translations
- Smoky (translations available)
Lone Cowboy: My Life Story
1930 Autobiography / Memoir 256 pagesA fictionalized autobiography recounting his experiences as a cowboy and life in the West; helped mythologize his persona.
autobiographywestern lifeidentity
Adaptations
- [Film] Lone Cowboy (1933) (1933)
The American Cowboy
1942 Historical non-fiction / essayWritten near the end of his life, it discusses the history and spirit of the American cowboy; his last recorded line was "The cowboy will never die."
western culturetradition and legacy
Bibliography
- Cowboys North and South (1924)
- The Drifting Cowboy (1925)
- Smoky the Cowhorse (1926)
- Cow Country (1926)
- Sand (1929)
- Lone Cowboy (1930)
- Flint Spears, Cowboy Rodeo Contestant (1938)
- The American Cowboy (1942)
Adaptations
- Film adaptations of Smoky (1933, 1946, 1966, etc.)
- Lone Cowboy (1933 film)
- Sand (1949 film)
Translations of Works
- Smoky (translations available)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- colloquial, realistic vernacularconcise and direct proseintegration of illustrations with narrative
- Recurring Motifs
- horsescowboy lifenature and the frontierloneliness and self-reliance
Health
-
Alcoholism晩年（1930年代末〜1942年）Adversely affected health and creative work, and contributed to his death
Legacy
Will James is regarded as an author and artist who vividly and narratively portrayed cowboy culture of the American West. He won the Newbery Medal for Smoky and his writings and artwork are preserved in collections such as the Yellowstone Art Museum. His autobiographical accounts are partly embellished, but his influence on Western representation is significant.
Museums
- Yellowstone Art Museum (Will James collection) Billings, Montana, United States
Academic Societies
- Nevada Writers Hall of Fame
Archives
- University of Nevada, Reno Special Collections (Will James Papers)
- Collections at the Yellowstone Art Museum
In Popular Culture
- Documentary 'Alias Will James' (1988)
- Ian Tyson song 'The Man They Called Will James'
Quotes
-
The cowboy will never die.
Source: The American Cowboy (1942) (1942)
Trivia
- Born Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault.
- Known for embellishing and mythologizing aspects of his life in autobiographical writings.
- Was arrested for cattle rustling in 1914 and served time in Nevada prisons.
- Wrote and illustrated 23 books; five of his works were adapted as feature films.
- Largest public collection of his writings and art is held at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana.