Tom Seidmann-Freud (Austrian, 1892–1930) was a painter, illustrator, and children’s book author who helped reshape the visual language of the modern picture book. Martha Gertrud Freud, the niece of famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, was born in Vienna and later active in Berlin, she adopted the name “Tom” as a young artist because she preferred it's masculine ring. and developed a practice of folkloristic-style storytelling in bold graphic design. Her illustrated books combine playful narratives with inventive layouts, drawing on Art Nouveau, New Objectivity, and Expressionism. Through small publishing ventures she founded with her husband, writer Jakob Seidmann, she produced experimental books that encouraged agentive engagement from the children who interacted with them. Though her life was brief, Seidmann-Freud’s imaginative approach to illustration remains an influential chapter in the history of twentieth-century children’s literature and book design.
