George Butler

Biography

George Butler is an award-winning artist. In 2012, Butler walked into Syria, where as guest of the Free Syrian Army he drew war-damaged Azaz. This set him on a journey to demonstrate that illustration was equally valuable for recording current affairs in contrast to the news industry’s obsession with headlines. This he proved with published work from places including Mosul, Libya, and Afghanistan. His drawings are available in his book, Drawn Across Borders (Candlewick Studio, 2021).

See Work

ART / Fall 2022

Drawn to War

By George Butler

A Ukraine Journal

Ambushed Russian Tanks, Bucha. Illustrations by George Butler
EDITOR'S DESK / Spring 2017

The Promises of a Continent

By Paul Reyes ,  Illustrations by George Butler

In the fall of 2015, as Europe scrambled to address the wave of refugees crossing into the continent, German chancellor Angela Merkel claimed the moral high ground when she announced that Germany would take in nearly 1 million asylum...
REPORTING / Spring 2017

The Useful Village

By Ben Mauk ,  Photography by Valerie Schmidt ,  Illustrations by George Butler

In the fall of 2015, Germany designated Sumte, population 102, as a sanctuary for nearly 800 refugees. What followed was a living experiment in the country’s principles.

Sumte, Lower Saxony, Germany
REPORTING / Spring 2017

The New Berliners

By Laura Kasinof ,  Photography by Alex Potter ,  Illustrations by George Butler

On a chilly April morning in 2016, at a newly converted shelter in southern Berlin, Om Belal struggled as she maneuvered her ten-year-old son, Jad, in his wheelchair out the building’s front door.
ART / Spring 2017

Belgrade Station

By George Butler

In January 2017, George Butler headed to Belgrade, Serbia, to observe and depict the conditions of refugees stranded there as a result of border closings along the Balkan Route, one of the main arteries of travel for migrants moving between...

Illustration by George Butler.