Ivan Seljak

Ivan Seljak, nom de guerre Čopič (7 December 1927 – 1990) was a Slovene painter and illustrator.

Seljak was born in Idrija in 1927. During the Second World War he joined the Slovene Partisans as a young military courier, where he met Božidar Jakac and other artists who encouraged his artistic talent. After the war he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana, from which he graduated in 1951. His main medium was painting, but he also illustrated numerous children's books. He won the Levstik Award for his illustrations three times: in 1955, 1963, and 1976. He also won the Prešeren Foundation Award in 1975 for the exhibitions of his paintings. He died in 1990.

Selected illustrated works

 * Koraki v svobodo (Marching to Freedom), written by Peter Levec, 1945
 * Otrok črnega rodu (A Child of a Dark Race), written by Jože Pahor, 1947
 * Tri hčere (The Three Daughters), Tatar folk tale, 1953
 * Posadka brez ladje (The Crew without a Ship), written by Tone Seliškar, 1955
 * Knjiga o Titu (The Book about Tito), written by France Bevk, 1955
 * Dvanajst (Twelve), written by Alexander Blok, 1957
 * Neizprosni sever (The Harsh North), written by Pavel Kunaver, 1958
 * Novele (Short Stories), written by Guy de Maupassant, 1958
 * Vesele in žalostne o mulah (Happy and Sad Stories about Mules), written by Tone Seliškar, 1963
 * Aska in volk (Aska and the Wolf), written by Ivo Andrić, 1963
 * Gregec Kobilica (Gregec Kobilica), written by Branka Jurca, 1965
 * Robinson Crusoe (Robinson Crusoe), written by Daniel Defoe, 1975
 * Moja pesem (My Song), poetry by Karel Destovnik, 1985