Mary Engelbreit

Mary Engelbreit (b. 1952) = German-American Artist. Best known for cherries, checks, cottage roses, dots, hearts, Scotties, and Ann Estelle, whose namesake is Mary's maternal grandmother and wears glasses like Mary (second grade).

Once upon a time, a little girl was born on June 5 to "Papa" (d. 1990) and Mary Lois Engelbreit and she grew up in St. Louis, Missouri along with her younger sisters, Alexa and Peggy. She loved to draw and her first studio was in a linen closet. Some of her childhood memories are the shopping trips downtown with her mother for new straw bonnets for her and her sisters to wear to church on Easter Sunday and rambling together through flea markets.

When her high school guidance counselor at Visitation Academy recommended an university educator degree, Mary ignored the advice, skipping both university and art design school and immediately began her career in the arts at various jobs such as a free-lancer, after school at an art supply store, then at an advertising agency, as an editorial cartoonist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and for greeting card companies. Early on she made it a policy to associate with supportive people.

Like one of her illustrated fairy-tales, Mary began dating Phil Delano, an administrator in the county juvenile court system, in 1974 and married producing two sons, Evan in 1980 and Will, 1983. Eventually a granddaughter, Mikayla and a storybook cottage came along.

Mary's dearest dream was illustrating children's books, like the vintage ones her mother read to her growing up and in 1993, she finally realized it with the first of many, Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen. Many of her nostalgic and charming designs are translated into other products and today, her "Empire of Cuteness," is a multi-million-dollar company. Yes, she bloomed where she planted.

Quote: "She creates things that touch your heart. Her drawings have that nice quality. Crudeness and vulgarity hit us in the face everyday. Mary's pictures capture something we love and are losing fast." (Mary Lois Engelbreit.)

More to Read:

1. Mary Engelbreit, INK. See especially "About Me."

2. Mary Engelbreit: The Art and the Artist. By Patrick Regan with Mary Engelbreit. Andrews & McMeel, Kansas City, MO., 1996.

3. Home Sweet Home: A Journey Through Mary's Dream Home. By Patrick Regan. Andrews McMeel, KCMO, 2004.

4. Mary Engelbreit: Cross Stitch For All Seasons. Meredith Press, 1997.

5. Missouri Legends: Famous People from the Show-Me State. By John W. Brown, Reedy Press, St. Louis, Mo; 2008.

6. A Mary Engelbreit Flickr Fan Group
7. Mary's YouTube Channel

Read biographies of Mary's Favorite Artists: Joan Walsh Auglund, Seymour Chwast, Milton Glaser, Johnny Gruelle, Peter Max, Maxfield Parrish, and Jessie Wilcox Smith

Places to Visit:

1. Mary's Studio, 4814 Washington Blvd., Ste. 230, St. Louis (visit by appointment only)

2. Andrews McMeel Publishing Co, Kansas City


Extras for (Home) Educators:
Many classroom and teaching aids can be found such as bulletin board displays, calendars, charts, coloring, and children's books  at Mary's website. Click on the link to her website above.