Olga Bajusova

Olga Bajusova was a highly recognized award-winning illustrator of children’s books and magazines. Originally from Bratislava, she and her husband, artist Jozef Bajus, relocated to the United States in 2001.

Olga’s art training began in the late 70s at The Academy of Art and Design in Bratislava. Her first illustrative book was her graduate project in 1984, Sovia Hora, or Owl Mountain, written by Dana Podracka. It was was published at the encouragement of her professor, Albin Brunovsky, at the Academy of Arts and Design.  

In the mid-80s after graduating, she and Jozef Bajus married.  She became a renowned illustrator of children's books, a contributor to children's magazines and even a collaborator in the creation of an animated children's film.  Strigonove Vianoce or the Christmas Wizard, story by Julius Balco and illustrations by Olga Bajusova was published in 1991 and continues to be aired on television in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as Christmas favorite every year.

In 2001, she encouraged her husband to accept a position to teach in an arts department in a small college in Pennsylvania. They eventually moved to Buffalo when Jozef was offered a teaching position at Buffalo State College.

She published over 30 children books and exhibited widely; showing her work in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Portugal, Slovenia, Canada, Japan and later in the United States. She had won many awards including The Most Beautiful Book of the Year in Czechoslovakia in 1987, and the prestigious Ludovit Fulla Award.  In 1997, Olga received the Mlade Leta publishing prize and was elected to the International Board of Book of Young People, an international Illustrators’ Association.

Olga passed away on November 18, 2012.