Emily Arnold McCully

Emily Arnold McCully is a distinguished American illustrator and children’s fiction author, best known for her work on the US picture book illustration “Mirette on the High Wire” (1993). Born in Galesburg, Illinois, McCully spent her childhood in the New York suburb of Garden City. She comes from a creative family, with her father writing for radio shows and her mother being a singer and actress. McCully's mother was instrumental in nurturing her creative talents, recognizing her early attempts at drawing and encouraging her artistic development. McCully initially pursued art history, reading, and theater in college, moving away from her drawing abilities due to her discomfort with the constant attention she received as an artist.

McCully's professional career as an illustrator and author took off after she earned a Master's degree in art history from Columbia University. She began working as a freelance illustrator for magazines, advertisements, and book publishers. Her big break came when a radio station commissioned a series of posters featuring children playing. The first poster in the series was displayed in subway cars and caught the attention of a children's book editor, which marked the beginning of her successful career in children's books. McCully's work as an illustrator eventually evolved into authoring and illustrating her own picture books. Her significant contributions to children's literature were recognized with the Caldecott Medal in 1993. She is now a proud mother of two grown sons and a grandmother, residing in New York City and Columbia County, N.Y., where she enjoys tending to her flowers and vegetables.