Jill McDonald

Press, 27 January 1982, Page 13

Jill McDonald

PA Wellington. A former Wellington resident, the children’s artist and author, Jill Masefield McDonald, has died in London, aged 54. Mrs McDonald, formerly Jill Hammond, was the daughter of Mr Reginald Hammond, the first New Zealand Director of Town Planning. Trained as an architect, after her marriage she worked for the Education Department in the School Publications branch, becoming art director of the “School Journal.” In 1965 she went to England and began a long association with Puffin books. . In an obituary in “The Times” Kaye Webb wrote that Mrs McDonald’s gaiety and empathy with children was the essence of every issue of the Puffin Club’s magazine, the “Puffin Post.”

She produced 12 children’s picture books, including “Maggy Scraggle,” “The Pirates’ Tale,” and “The Happy Helper Engine.” Kaye Webb wrote: “Because so much of her work was done for children, it may not be as widely known as it deserves, but everyone who knows it has been captivated not only by her brilliant use of colour and unique style, but the way each sure, strong line seems to impose a very individual and secret humour. “Everything she drew or wrote contained the same joyfulness and delight in life which was the essence of her personality.” Mrs McDonald’s father was a cousin of the Poet Laureate, John Masefield, and a distant cousin of the playwright, Christopher Fry. Mrs McDonald is survived by two children and six grandchildren. . .