Oldřich Jelínek

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Oldřich Jelínek (26 February 1930 – 17 November 2025) was a Czech illustrator, graphic artist, and caricaturist. He was born in Košice, Czechoslovakia, to Czech parents who had moved to Eastern Slovakia during the economic crisis. He studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AVU), where he met Adolf Born; together they created illustrations for magazines and also illustrated Andrei Sergeyevich Nekrasov's The Adventures of Captain Zhvanilkin. In 1981, Jelínek and his family emigrated to Munich, as his drawings often depicted Western life and criticized the socialist system. In Germany he became known for advertising work, caricatures, and illustrations for the German magazine Computerwoche. In 2016 he donated many works from his Munich period to the Gallery of Fine Arts in Havlíčkův Brod, and in 2017 expanded the donation to include older graphic works, totaling 214 pieces. In 2020 he received the Golden Ribbon for his lifetime contribution to children's and youth literature. Jelínek moved back to Prague in 2021 after his Czech citizenship was restored. He died on 17 November 2025 at the age of 95.