Jan Balet (1913-2009) was a German-born artist best known in the U.S. for his success in the 40s, 50s and 60s as a commercial illustrator in New York City, where he designed for major corporations and publications and authored and illustrated children's books. Returning to Europe in 1965, this self-proclaimed “sophisticated primitive” continued as a children's book author and illustrator, but spent the majority of his final years creating a vast body of work through painting, etching, lithographs, and watercolors.