I came back yesterday from vacation to find sad news that E.L. Doctorow passed away. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to illustrate one of his last essays
for 150th anniversary of The Nation magazine. See below.
For you who don't know about E. L. Doctorow here is some basic information
from Wikipedia:
Edgar Lawrence "E. L." Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an
American author, editor and professor, best known internationally for his works of historical fiction. He has been described as one of the most important American novelists of the 20th century.
He authored twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama.
They included the award-winning novels Ragtime (1975), Billy Bathgate (1989) and
The March (2005). These, like many of of his other works, placed fictional characters in recognizable historical contexts, with known historical figures, and often used different narrative styles. His stories were recognized for their originality and versatility and Doctorow was praised for his audacity and imagination.
A number of Doctorow's novels were also adapted for the screen, including,
Welcome to Hard Times (1967), with Henry Fonda, Daniel (1983), starring
Timothy Hutton, and Billy Bathgate (1991) starring Dustin Hoffman. His most
notable adaptations were for the film, Ragtime (1981) and the Broadway musical
of the same name (1988), which won four Tony Awards.
President Barack Obama called him "one of America's greatest novelists."
