Hilary Knight was born on November 1, 1926. He is the son of artist-writers Clayton Knight and Katherine Sturges. He was born in Hempstead, Long Island and grew up in the town of Roslyn. When he was six the family moved to Manhattan where he has lived ever since. He is the illustrator of over fifty books, nine of which he also wrote. He is best known as the illustrator of Kay Thompson's Eloise (1955) and others in the Eloise series. He lives in an apartment in midtown Manhattan which also serves as his studio and library. His illustrations are available for purchase at two galleries--the Giraffics Gallery (East Hampton, New York) and Every Picture Tells a Story (Santa Monica, California).