Kristy Caldwell is an illustrator in New York City. She makes narrative work that explores how observation and imagination work together to shape meaning. She is especially interested in how stories unfold across images—what is shown, what is held back, and how viewers piece things together.
She has illustrated more than a dozen children’s books and helped launch experimental literary journal Carrier Pigeon: Illustrated Fiction and Fine Art. In 2025 she became the first visual artist to receive a William H. Helfand Fellowship at the Grolier Club Library.
Her illustrations have been recognized by American Illustration and Communication Arts. She has taught at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Pratt Institute, and the School of Visual Arts, and is currently an assistant professor of illustration at Queens College, CUNY.
kc@kristycaldwell.com
@kristy.caldwell
WRITING
- The Blind Man in the Studio: A Visit with Richard Pettibone, Castelli Gallery
TALKING
- ‘Trim Sets Sail’ and ‘Trim Helps Out’ — Historical Fiction about a Ship’s Cat, Conversations, Kansas Public Radio
- Thanks to Frances Perkins: An Interview with Kristy Caldwell, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
- From the Sketchbook: Kristy Caldwell / Children’s Book Council
- Let’s Talk Illustrators #100, Let’s Talk Picture Books