Edgar Parin d'Aulaire (1898-1986) studied art in Germany and France, and apprenticed with Henri Matisse. In Munich, he met Ingri Mortenson (1904-1980), a Norwegian-born art student. They married, emigrated to America, and began a long career together in which they published over twenty picture books for children, including Abraham Lincoln, which won the 1940 Caldecott Medal.