Ashley Frederick Bryan (July 13, 1923 – February 4, 2022) was an American artist, writer and illustrator of children's books, and puppet maker.
As a child in Harlem, New York, soldier in World War II, Fulbright scholar in France, longtime faculty member at Dartmouth College, dedicated philanthropist, and notable citizen of Islesford, Maine, Ashley was a beloved member of many communities and places. Ashley received numerous awards and honors during his career such as the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2012.
Here at COA, Ashley shared his inspiring work and ideas through multiple visits, lectures, and discussions with students, faculty, and staff over most of the college's fifty-year history. He opened his island home to countless boatloads of what he called 'his COA family". COA celebrates the palpable love, respect, and energy it shared with Ashely Bryan, who received an honorary Master of Philosophy degree in Human Ecology from COA in 1996.
View a detailed timeline of Ashley's life here.
View a detailed timeline of awards and honors here.
Obituaries
Image: Ashley speaking to COA students, Schlomit Auciello '17
When Ashley Bryan passed away, the Ashley Bryan Center (ABC) inherited everything in his house, including his enormous collection of books. In the summer of 2024, the ABC reached out to Thorndike Library, inviting them to Ashley's house to browse his collection. Library staff spent hours exploring shelves of books, pulling titles critical to telling the story of Ashley. A bibliophile, and champion of libraries, Ashley was also a cultivator of human connection. Many of the books have inscriptions to Ashley, from authors sharing their work inspired by him, to friends and family who admired and loved him. For Ashley, books were more than objects, they became expressions of relationships, mapped, reinforced, and treasured. Ashley's personal collection, shaped by his curiosities, passions, life experiences, and relationships tell their own story. Thorndike Library wanted to share this story and has created a unique special collection for patrons to browse.
View the Ashley Bryan Special Collection titles in Thorncat.
In 2022 College of the Atlantic was gifted a collection of Ashley's puppets, some of which are on permanent exhibit in the Davis Center for Human Ecology (CHE). The exhibit was created by Dru Colbert, COA professor of arts and design from 2003-2024.
The Ashley Bryan Center, located on Islesford, Maine, was created in 2013. The Center's mission is to “preserve, celebrate and share broadly artist Ashley Bryan’s work and his joy of discovery, invention, learning and community. The Ashley Bryan Center will promote opportunities for people to come together in the creation and appreciation of visual art, literature, music, and the oral and written traditions of poetry. The Center is fiercely committed to fostering cultural understanding and personal pride through scholarship, exhibitions and opportunities in the Arts.”
Visit the Ashley Bryan Center's website for more information.
The Ashley Bryan Archive at University of Pennsylvania's Kislak Center contains hundreds of original artwork, correspondences, books and materials documenting Ashley's career. The archive was donated to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries in 2019.
Image: University of Pennsylvania's Ashley Bryan Archive webpage.