Miffy's Birthday

About Dick Bruna

Dick Bruna (23 Aug 1927 - 16 Feb 2017) was born in Utrecht in the year of the rabbit, according to the Japanese zodiac.  As the son of a publisher, Dick was introduced to books and authors at an early age.  He grew up in Zeist, surrounded by chickens, rabbits, dogs and a goat, and enjoyed a wonderful childhood with his brother Frits.

During his school years, Dick developed a keen interest in art and drawing.  Then came the war, and Dick and his father were in danger of being taken into forced labour.  The family went into hiding and lived underground for two years in a house by the lake.  Occasionally they would hide from the Germans amongst reeds in a small boat.  During this time, Dick spent hours drawing, playing the accordion, writing songs and working on a book.  He was 18 when the war ended.

Though he began by training in publishing, Dick really wanted to be an artist, drawing inspiration from the bold use of colour by masters such as Leger and Matisse. After marrying his wife Irene in 1952, Dick took up a permanent position as a designer in the family’s publishing firm, A.W. Bruna & Zoon.  

For the next 10 years he was to create numerous book-jackets and posters, as well as producing his first picture books, including the first edition of Miffy in 1955.  This was also a busy time in Dick’s personal life with the birth of his three children: son Sierk in 1954, son Marc in 1958 and daughter Madelon in 1961.  In 1962, Dick was appointed co-director of the publishing house and continued to give the company a striking house style through award-winning book-jackets and posters until the early 1970s.  

In 1975, Dick decided to work for himself, and the Miffy series really took off.  He also started accepting poster and card commissions for organisations including Unicef, the Netherlands Red Cross, The Hague, Amnesty International and the Netherlands Dairies.

His work has won numerous awards and has featured in many prestigious exhibitions around the world.