Leo Politi
Today, I was reading about Leo Politi. My dad and I both grew up on his books, which are heavily centered on his art. I was fascinated with the stories, which usually focused on the ethnic neighborhoods in Los Angeles, rather than the multiethnic areas where I grew up. I loved the paintings of Old Los Angeles. By the time I came along, most of his books were out of print, except for Song of the Swallows, which won the Caldicott Medal. I automatically supposed that he had died before I was born.
Today, I discovered to my very great chagrin that I was wrong. Leo Politi died in 1996. What a missed opportunity for me!
Some of his books have recently been republished by the Getty museum. I have collected others over the years, including the copies that my grandmother bequeathed to me when she died. I still look for them every time I go into a used bookstore (and once had luck that way). Most of the people who are passionate about his books are like me: old-family Angelenos who look back to at least two generations growing up on those wonderful stories, and who loved seeing their city as painted by a man who truly loved it. The mural he painted outside the Mexican Consulate (he did the tilework, too!) is what I am sharing with you here.
Today, I discovered to my very great chagrin that I was wrong. Leo Politi died in 1996. What a missed opportunity for me!
Some of his books have recently been republished by the Getty museum. I have collected others over the years, including the copies that my grandmother bequeathed to me when she died. I still look for them every time I go into a used bookstore (and once had luck that way). Most of the people who are passionate about his books are like me: old-family Angelenos who look back to at least two generations growing up on those wonderful stories, and who loved seeing their city as painted by a man who truly loved it. The mural he painted outside the Mexican Consulate (he did the tilework, too!) is what I am sharing with you here.