Mark English (illustrator)

On August 8, 2019, Mark English died peacefully, "after a brief illness" in Kansas City. He left behind four daughters; Donna, Stephanie, Emily, and Sarah, and a son, John.

He has won hundreds of awards for his work and has been the most awarded illustrator in the history of the Society of Illustrators in New York City. including the 1967 Hamilton King Award from said Society of Illustrators.

Mark English (September 19, 1933 – August 8, 2019) was an American illustrator and painter, born in Hubbard, Texas. He was one of the United States' leading illustrators for publications in a career spanning from the 1960s to the 1990s, before beginning a career painting for gallery exhibition in 1995.

Mark English was born on September 19, 1933, in Hubbard, Texas. He attended the Hubbard High School and graduated in 1951, after which he enrolled into the University of Texas. He was then drafted into the military during the Korean War. In 1954, English married his first wife, Peggy Ann Littlejohn. In 1960, Mark graduated with honours from The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, with a BFA in Advertising Design. After gaining work experience in advertising agencies for the automobile industry, English and his family moved to Connecticut in 1964. He began an illustrious career, working with publications such as TIME Magazine and Sports Illustrated among others in the corporate, pharmaceutical, music and postage industry. In 1977, Hallmark Cards offered Mark an Artist-in-Residency to teach classes to its creative staff in Kansas City. It was there that he met his second wife, Wendy Buskey, and they married in 1983. In 1995, English retired from illustrations and began to paint for galleries in earnest. The same year, English and his son John co-founded the Illustration Academy, an art and design workshop catering to students and professionals. From 1999 onwards, English's work and paintings were exhibited in galleries across the United States and in London. His last exhibition was in 2019, in the Sager Braudis Gallery, in Columbia. Before his death, English was living in Liberty, Missouri with his wife.