Constantinos "Ted" CoConis (August 31, 1927 – March 28, 2023) was an American illustrator and painter who worked on many children's books, including the 1971 Newbery Award-winning The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Cromer Byars, and The Golden God, Apollo by Doris Gates.

[3][4][5] After returning stateside, an Air Force Colonel with whom CoConis had worked earlier encouraged him to apply for a position in the publicity department of the Fifth Army in Chicago.

[9] He created the covers for such well-known books as Nelson Algren’s A Walk on the Wild Side (1960), Ada, or Ardor (1969) by Vladimir Nabokov, and William Goldman’s The Princess Bride (1973).

[10] CoConis also provided interior illustrations for some of James Michener's novels published in Reader's Digest condensed books, including Texas and Alaska.

His earlier work with Jim Henson and the Muppet Show (1974), led to CoConis being asked to illustrate the movie poster for Labyrinth (1986).

[7][5][4] Since that time, he and his spouse and creative partner, Kristen, have spent several months each year in France and of late also in Greece, where he produces sketches en plein air.

The women are presented in elaborate detail in their real-world settings, such as flower shops, brothels, local cafés, the Louvre or the Tuileries Garden.

[3][18] To quote Tudor, "The power of Women in Paris, as the evolving series of CoConis’s work has come to be known, is the same one that fueled his first illustrations: Every face, every gesture, every choice in clothing and setting tells a story.