From that day, little by little, I gave my golden feathers away
In The Central Gallery
Birds of a Feather: The Art of Eric Carle and Leo Lionni
May 11 - December 9, 2007
When Eric Carle returned to America in 1952, a meeting with Leo Lionni resulted in a friendship and a job lead. The rest, as they say, is history. Neither Eric Carle nor Leo Lionni ever imagined they later would create some of the most memorable picture books of our time. The similarities between these two artists are quite striking: their pictures are filled with animals and nature; they drew inspiration from their childhood experiences; and their early careers in graphic design can be seen in their bold simplicity and elegant sense of design.
Illustration from The Spiderwick Chronicles: Book 2, The Seeing Stone
In The West Gallery
Spiderwick: From Page to Screen
September 22, 2007 - January 27, 2008
Spiderwick: From Page to Screen explores the art of Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s The Spiderwick Chronicles, and follows the story’s wondrous translation to the big screen. The exhibition, inspired by Museum Director Nick Clark’s sneak peek at early plans for The Spiderwick Chronicles movie (coming February 15, 2008), combines DiTerlizzi’s imaginative and masterful renderings of the natural and unnatural world with the film production team’s extraordinary interpretation of that creative vision.
The exhibition Spiderwick: From Page to Screen has been generously underwritten by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, and by a grant from Triad Foundation, Inc. Additional support has been provided by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
The Spiderwick Chronicles movie logo used here with permission.
Copyright © 2007 Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.
Illustration from Betty Lou Blue written by Nancy Crocker.
In The East Gallery
Children Should Be Seen: The Image of the Child in American Picture-Book Art
November 15, 2007 - March 9, 2008
Presenting a comprehensive survey of the best American picture book art of the last decade, Children Should Be Seen: The Image of the Child in American Picture-Book Art opens with a rare grouping of illustrations chosen from some of the most significant works of the last half-century by artists such as Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, and Ezra Jack Keats. The core of the exhibition consists of artworks dating from 1997 to 2007 and is grouped by the following sub-themes with the aim of highlighting American picture book artists’ interpretations of six of childhood’s formative stages and experiences: The New Child, The Child and Family, The Child at School and at Play, The Child in the Community, The Child in History, The Questioning Child, and The New Picture Book.
Children Should Be Seen: The Image of the Child in American Picture-Book Art has been co-organized by The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts and the Katonah Museum of Art in Katonah, New York, and has been made possible by a generous grant from Helen and Peter Bing. Additional funding for the exhibition has been provided by the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the New York Council for the Humanities or National Endowment for the Humanities.
Click here to view a list of the artists featured in the Children Should Be Seen: The Image of the Child in American Picture-Book Art exhibition.
In The Central Gallery
Toot and Re-Toot: The Return of Hardie Gramatky's Little Toot
December 21, 2007 - May 4, 2008
A perennial favorite, Hardie Gramatky’s Little Toot has sold over six million copies, and has never been out of print. Gramatky’s hero, an exuberant little tugboat, proves his courage when he saves a shipwrecked ocean liner during a terrible storm.
Gramatky, who began his career at Walt Disney’s studio during the Great Depression, brought something entirely new to the art of the picture book: an animator’s pacing and flair for comic action. Also a master watercolorist, Gramatky’s breezy technique endowed Little Toot’s pages with special brightness. Recently reprinted with restored colors and the original endpapers on the centenary of Gramatky’s birth, Little Toot continues to charm and enchant its audience.
In this exhibition, never-before seen sketches from Gramatky’s Disney days and from his unpublished notebooks provide in-depth view of the genesis of a classic.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by a gift from Matthew and Ellen Lougee Simmons and by the guidance and encouragement of Kendall and Linda Gramatky Smith.
Study for cover, Days With Frog and Toad
Graphite, ink and watercolor on illustration board
Courtesy of the Estate of Arnold Lobel
In The East Gallery
Seeking A State of Grace: The Art of Arnold Lobel
March 22 - June 15, 2008
In celebration of what would have been Arnold Lobel’s seventy-fifth birthday, the Museum has organized a retrospective of his illustrious career. Although his career was woefully short—he was only fifty-four when he died—Lobel created over seventy books and was awarded the Caldecott Medal for Fables (1981); two Caldecott Honors for Frog and Toad Are Friends (1971) and Hildilid’s Night, written by Cheli Duran Ryan (1972); and a Newbery Honor for Frog and Toad Together (1973). The exhibition will provide an overview of the full range of his career with considerable attention paid to his signature legacy—Frog and Toad.
Support for the exhibition Seeking A State of Grace: The Art of Arnold Lobel has been provided in part by HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Click here for more information about this exhibit, or related events and programming.
In The West Gallery
Selections from the Art of Eric Carle: Bears and Beyond
February 8 - August 31, 2008
As one of the most acclaimed authors and illustrators of our time, Eric Carle’s work has world-wide appeal. Selections from The Art of Eric Carle: Bears and Beyond explores the evolution of Carle’s collage technique, highlighting his collaboration with Bill Martin Jr. On view for the first time will be the art created for Martin’s last manuscript, Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? This exhibition will also feature other insights into Carle’s creative process, including examples of his non-book art, as well as recent acquisitions from the Museum’s permanent collection.
Support for Selections from the Art of Eric Carle: Bears and Beyond has been provided in part by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers.
Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection
In The East Gallery
Flights Into Fantasy: The Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection of Children’s Illustration
July 1 - October 26, 2008
View examples of fantasy in children’s illustrations by some of the most famous illustrators of the 19th and 20th centuries from the remarkable collection of Kendra and Allan Daniel. The Daniels’ collection focuses on works from the Golden Age of Illustration, a period between 1880 and 1940 that produced unprecedented excellence in book and magazine illustration. Drawings and paintings from books such as Winnie the Pooh (Ernest H. Shepard), Babar (Jean de Brunhoff), Madeline (Ludwig Bemelmans), Raggedy Ann (Johnny Gruelle), Alice in Wonderland (Jessie Wilcox Smith), Snow White (Wanda Gàg), Little Miss Muffett (Arthur Rackham) and Peter Rabbit (Harrison Cady), are among the superb works selected. Co-organized with the Brandywine River Museum.
First published in 1940
In The Central Gallery
Dorothy Kunhardt's Pat the Bunny
May 16 - December 7, 2008
Dorothy Kunhardt was already a successful children's author when she wrote the ground-breaking Pat the Bunny for her 3-year-old daughter, Edith. Pat the Bunny is a "touch and feel" book for small children and babies that has been a perennial best seller since its publication in 1940. It is hardly a book in the literary sense, but more a collection of things to do, such as pat the fake fur of a rabbit on one page, feel a bit of sandpaper that stands for "daddy's beard" on another, and look in a mirror on yet another. Kunhardt thought that there was more to books than just words on paper and added elements that could increase a child’s love for reading and learning. The exhibition, taken from the archive of the Meserve Kunhardt Foundation, will explore the evolution of this innovative book as well as other facets of Kunhardt’s rich and varied career.
Support for the exhibition Dorothy Kunhardt’s Pat the Bunny has been provided in part by Random House Children’s Books.
The Rooster Who Set Out to See the World
Acrylic, marker and tissue paper on Bainbridge board
Collection of Eric and Barbara Carle
In The West Gallery
Selections from The Art of Eric Carle
September 16, 2008 - January 25, 2009
As one of the most acclaimed authors and illustrators of our time, Eric Carle’s work has world-wide appeal. Images, including those from Rooster’s Off To See The World and The Very Lonely Firefly, will explore the evolution of Carle’s collage technique with particular attention to his use of shape and color. This exhibition will also feature other insights into Carle’s creative process, including examples of his non-book art, as well as recent acquisitions from the Museum’s permanent collection.
He walked around with Little Red Riding Hood for a while, making polite conversation
India ink and acrylic
Reprinted with permission from the Estate of Trina Schart Hyman
In The East Gallery
Over Rainbows and Down Rabbit Holes: The Art of Children's Books
November 11, 2008 - March 8, 2009
This exhibition features over 80 works of art created specifically for children’s books, drawn exclusively from the outstanding collection assembled by Les and Zora Charles. These original works of art will inspire the imagination and celebrate the creativity of making picture books for readers of all ages. Selections include examples from Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but the majority of the exhibition focuses on the genius of this genre working in the post-World War II period. Artists on view include: Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji); Kinuko Y. Craft (Cinderella); Maurice Sendak (The Bee-Man of Orn); Leo and Diane Dillon (Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears); Trina Schart Hyman (Little Red Riding Hood); Gerald McDermott (Arrow to the Sun); Barry Moser (Jump On Over); and Jerry Pinkney (John Henry).
The exhibition is co-organized with the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and curated by Lolly Robinson.
In The Central Gallery
Petra Mathers: Lottie's New Friend
December 19, 2008 - May 3, 2009
In celebration of Petra Mathers’s extraordinary gift to the Museum of all the original art and preliminary materials from her popular series of books about Lottie, the amiable chicken from Oregon, The Eric Carle Museum is pleased to present the second exhibition of work from the series, the New York Times award-winning Lottie’s New Friend (1999).
In The East Gallery
Those Telling Lines: The Art of Virginia Lee Burton
March 24 - June 21, 2009
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art’s exhibit of Those Telling Lines: the Art of Virginia Lee Burton celebrates the centenary of her birth and offers a rare opportunity to see both the original art she created for her picture books and the designs she created for fabrics.
Virginia Lee Burton (1909-1968) is best remembered as an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books, including Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (1939), The Little House (1942), Katy and the Big Snow (1943), and Song of Robin Hood (1947). Burton’s picture books often emphasize the continued utility and adaptability of older machines—and the traditions they represent—in a modern and fast-paced world, and a complementary sense of activity and industry fills her detailed illustrations.
In addition to her work in children’s literature, Burton was also a designer, painter, print maker, and an integral member of the Folly Cove Designers, a collective of artists who created printed fabrics using hand-carved linoleum blocks. Through this often forgotten group, Burton produced fabrics with elaborate patterns, designs, and even pictorial story lines that are as delightful and as distinctive as her children’s books, though far less well known. This exhibition is curated by Barbara Elleman.
Support for the exhibition Those Telling Lines: The Art of Virginia Lee Burton has been provided in part by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Click here for events and programming related to this exhibition.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
In The West Gallery
80/40: Celebrating the Birthdays of Eric Carle and The Very Hungry Caterpillar
February 10 - September 6, 2009
In celebration of Eric Carle’s 80th Birthday and the 40th Anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the Museum has organized a special exhibition that chronicles both Eric’s life and career. From his childhood art and advertising work to some of the history behind the creation of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the visitor will experience the full spectrum of Eric’s creative genius.
In The Reading Library
Meet Your Friends from Japan!
ともだちは日本にもいるよ！
August 20 - September 27, 2009
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art has a collection of Japanese picture books donated by Japanese publishers, picture book art museums, illustrators, and friends of the museum. In this exhibition, Meet Your Friends from Japan! ともだちは日本にもいるよ！, you are invited into the world of modern Japanese picture books that share similar graphic qualities or imaginative themes as those in Eric Carle’s works. Consequently, you may see Japanese culture in a new light as something that is very different and yet familiar to you.
In The East Gallery
Drawings from the Heart: Tomie dePaola Turns 75
July 3 - November 1, 2009
In celebration of Tomie dePaola’s 75th birthday, The Carle is organizing a major retrospective of his career, Drawings from the Heart: Tomie dePaola Turns 75. Curated by renowned authority of children’s literature and biographer of Tomie dePaola, Barbara Elleman, the exhibition will comprise works from his favorite books such as Strega Nona: An Original Tale, Bill and Pete to the Rescue, and Big Anthony and the Magic Ring as well as examples of his non-picture book art. Themes will include characters, personified animals, and heart motifs. The exhibition will explore the artist’s profound appreciation of design and art history to underscore his diverse talents.
Courtesy of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA).
Click here for events and programming related to this exhibition.
From THE POOH STORY BOOK by A. A. Milne,
Dutton, renewed © 1965 by A. A. Milne. Used by
permission of Dutton Children’s Books, A Division of Penguin Young Readers Group, A Member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
In The Central Gallery
The World of Pooh: Selections from the Penguin Young Readers Group Collection
May 15 - November 8, 2009
Winnie the Pooh is one of the most beloved animals in children’s literature. Making his first appearance in 1926 in Winnie-the-Pooh and again in the 1928 sequel, The House at Pooh Corner, this “bear of little brain” has been immortalized by the words of author A. A. Milne and the simple but enduring illustrations of E. H. Shepard. Together with his friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger, Pooh’s adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood have enchanted readers young and old for over eight decades, and have been described as one of the greatest celebrations of childhood.
Through the generosity of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., The Carle is the long-term repository of 125 drawings by Shepard. To celebrate the release of Return to the Hundred Acre Wood (October 2009), the first-ever official sequel to these much-loved books, we are pleased to exhibit selections from these engaging paintings and drawings.
In The East Gallery
Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 Years of Golden Books
Featuring Artwork from Iconic Children’s Books
November 24, 2009 - February 28, 2010
This exhibition will present the most extensive public showing ever of original illustration art from American publishing’s best loved and most consequential picture-book series, Little Golden Books—the history-making experiment that celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2007.
Click here for events and programming related to this exhibition.
This exhibition was organized by the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, Abilene, TX.
Support for this exhibition provided by Random House Children's Books.
In The West Gallery
80/40: Continuing the Celebration and Exploring the Undersea World of Eric Carle
September 19, 2009 - March 28, 2010
The Carle continues its celebration of Eric Carle's 80th birthday and the 40th anniversary of the publication of The Very Hungry Caterpillar with a new installation of work from this remarkable book. AS well, in conjunction with Picture Book Theater’s productions based on A House for Hermit Crab and Mister Seahorse, examples from these two books are on view. To augment this aquatic theme, marine subjects from the permanent collection by Norman Gorbaty and Peter Sìs have also been put on exhibit.
In The Central Gallery
Mother Goose in an Air-Ship: McLoughlin Bros. 19th Century Children’s Books from the Liman Collection
November 24, 2009 - April 18, 2010
This exhibit highlights beautifully-illustrated children’s books, printed in Brooklyn by McLoughlin Bros., a publisher who pioneered new technology and marketing techniques in the mass production of inexpensive children’s books. These books were recognized as precursors to the Golden Books and constitute a nice adjunct to the exhibition, Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 Years of Golden Books, in the East Gallery. The Liman Book Collection is an especially rich resource for exploring the values, character, and world views of nineteenth-century America.
Visitors will see children’s classics, such as Gulliver’s Travels and adaptations of Robinson Crusoe, educational books, such as various ABCs, Mother Goose stories, Christmas Books, books teaching children how to paint or draw, along with games and puzzles. These delightful books will “amuse and delight” both children and their parents. The Liman Collection of Nineteenth-Century McLoughlin Bros. Illustrated Children’s Books was graciously donated to the Brooklyn Historical Society by Mrs. Ellen Liman.
The Fox and the Grapes © 1950 by Antonio Frasconi.
In The East Gallery
Into the Wood: Antonio Frasconi's Art for Children
March 16 - June 13, 2010
Legendary artist Antonio Frasconi turns ninety-one this year. Raised in Uruguay by Italian parents, Frasconi came to New York to pursue his dream of being an artist — and was quickly recognized as one of the most innovative illustrators of his time. Best known for his intricate woodcuts and powerful social commentary, Frasconi also created a beautiful series of children’s books, inspired by the birth of his sons, Pablo and Miguel. One of his best known, See and Say: A Picture Book in Four Languages [1955], was groundbreaking — a book not as much about learning to speak four different languages as it was to experience them as part of Frasconi’s vision of a vast and complex world. In addition to the original art from his picture books, the exhibition includes books created in such small editions they are rarely available to a wide audience for viewing.
Click here to see a short video of Antonio Frasconi making his wood cuts.
The Mixed-Up Chameleon © 1975
by Eric Carle
In The West Gallery
Eric Carle: Prints and Papers
April 2 - September 12, 2010
This exhibition explores some of Eric Carle’s early printmaking. From his days in advertising, Eric employed linoleum cuts among other media to achieve a visual variety. Some of his first books in which he used the lino-cut technique reflect his emphasis on bold shape and design so associated with his collage technique, albeit without the color. Work from his early and later books are shown together in a thematically and stylistically connected display.
In The East Gallery
An Exquisite Vision: The Art of Lisbeth Zwerger
June 29 - September 26, 2010
Lisbeth Zwerger is one of the foremost illustrators working today. In 1990, at the age of thirty-six, she received the Hans Christian Andersen medal—the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for children’s literature. Her range of subject is remarkable, encompassing the Brothers Grimm, O. Henry, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, and L. Frank Baum to name a few. Her artistic vision is informed by watercolors executed with a deftness and delicacy that nevertheless possess an assurance and substance.
Read how Lisbeth chooses the books she illustrates.
This exhibition made possible with the generous support of Helen and Peter Bing.
In The Central Gallery
Leo Lionni: Geraldine, the Music Mouse
April 29 - November 28, 2010
In celebration/observance of the centenary of the birth of the beloved artist Leo Lionni, the Carle is mounting a small exhibition in its Central Gallery of Geraldine, the Music Mouse, borrowed from the Lionni family. The Museum honored Lionni in 2003 with a full retrospective—one of the first exhibitions mounted at the Museum. Best known for his collage technique and gentle social commentary, Lionni started to create his beautiful series of children’s books, inspired by his grandchildren, Annie and Pippo. Lionni got Eric Carle his first job when Eric returned to America in 1952, and although they were not close socially, their work shares elegant design and big stories told through humble animals.
© 1990 by William Steig.
Used by permission of
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
In The East Gallery
Monsters and Miracles: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books
October 15, 2010 - January 23, 2011
A collaboration with the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and the Yiddish Book Center, this ambitious exhibition explores the evolution of Jewish picture books from illuminated manuscripts, alef-bets [books of Hebrew letters], and Passover Haggadot to stories that consider monsters [golems, dybbuks, and wild things], life in the shtetl, and the role of migration in Jewish life. Curated by Ilan Stavans, Lewis-Sebring Professor of Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, and independent scholar, Neal Sokol, the exhibition comprises a “who’s who” of picture-book artists, including, among others, Mordicai Gerstein, Nonny Hogrogian, Trina Schart Hyman, Maurice Sendak, Uri Shulevitz, and William Steig. An 80-page illustrated exhibition catalog is available for purchase.
Click here for Monsters & Miracles programming and events.
Additional programming is next door at The Yiddish Book Center. All members of the Yiddish Book Center receive 15 percent off in The Carle Book Store during the exhibition's run, while Carle members will receive a 15 percent discount at The Yiddish Book Center's store.
Illustration from TODAY IS MONDAY copyright © 1993 by Eric Carle
In The West Gallery
Eric Carle: A Feast for the Eyes
September 21, 2010 - March 28, 2011
Join us for a smorgasbord of picture book art that explores the unique role food plays throughout children’s literature. The works of Eric Carle, as well as the works of other artists from our permanent collection, illustrate a range of themes, from food as basic sustenance to food as the center of family social life. For Carle, for example, food has been a leitmotif — famously, a caterpillar storing up food for its transformation into a butterfly, and with equal determination, a little boy making pancakes truly from scratch. Additional events highlighting the exhibits are planned in our reading library, auditorium, and art studio.
Illustration from ONCE UPON A TIME (SHE SAID) copyright © 1987 by Ruth Sanderson
In The Central Gallery
Partners in Wonder: Selections from the Collection of Jane Yolen
December 14, 2010 - May 1, 2011
Jane Yolen has enjoyed a long and distinguished career writing books for young and older children. Her ability to connect so seamlessly to such a varied audience developmentally is remarkable. In the process, she has forged deep ties to many of the artists that have illustrated her books, and through the years they have given her works from many of these collaborations. This exhibition constitutes a small selection of paintings and drawings that Yolen has amassed over the years. Among the artists included are: Kathryn Brown, Tomie dePaola, Jane Dyer, Lauren Mills, Barry Moser, Dennis Nolan, and Ruth Sanderson.
Illustration copyright 2009
by Etienne Delessert
In The East Gallery
What a Circus! The Art of
Etienne Delessert
February 8 - June 5, 2011
This retrospective of Delessert surveys his distinguished career that comprises more than eighty books collectively translated into fourteen languages. From his early collaboration with Eugene Ionesco to surreal and politically-charged interpretations of Big and Bad and Humpty Dumpty, Delessert intrigues his readers, young and old, with his imaginary creatures and landscapes.
For more information about Etienne Delessert visit www.etiennedelessert.com.
For exhibition-related events click here
What a Circus! The Art of Etienne Delessert is sponsored in part by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
This exhibition was organized by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, Abilene, Texas.
In The West Gallery
The Art of Eric Carle: Family and Friends
April 1 - September 4, 2011
To mark the 40th anniversary of the publication of Do You Want to Be My Friend? The Carle has mounted an exhibition featuring the theme of friendship. This book is dedicated to Eric’s boyhood friend from Syracuse, Carlton Mayer. Despite an almost 20-year hiatus, this friendship remained true, and they re-united when Eric returned to America in 1952. Because of the important theme of friendship, Eric has long acknowledged this book as his favorite. To celebrate this anniversary a group of works from this book and several others where friendship is an underlying theme are on view. In some cases these bonds are between people, as in The Tiny Seed(1987); in others, such as The Lamb and Butterfly(1988), animals befriend each other. In a recent book, Where Are You Going? To See My Friend(2002), friendship connects two cultures—Japan and America. And finally, it seemed appropriate to point out the folly of not wanting friendship, so wonderfully captured in The Grouchy Ladybug(1977).
In The West Gallery
Winnie the Pooh: Drawings by E.H. Shepard
August 1 - September 21, 2011
Extended due to Popular Demand Winnie the Pooh is one of the most beloved animals in children’s literature. Making his first appearance in 1926 in Winnie-the-Pooh and again in the 1928 sequel, The House at Pooh Corner, this “bear of little brain” has been immortalized by the words of author A. A. Milne and the simple but enduring illustrations of E. H. Shepard. Together with his friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger, Pooh’s adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood have enchanted readers young and old for over eight decades, and have been described as one of the greatest celebrations of childhood.
Through the generosity of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., The Carle is the long-term repository of 125 drawings by Shepard. Recently, private collectors acquired the penultimate drawing from Winnie-the-Pooh that shows Pooh and Piglet walking into the sunset just moments before they turn back into ordinary toys and Christopher Robin “drags Winnie-the-Pooh—bump, bump, bump—going up the stairs behind him.” Happily for The Carle, the collectors generously asked if we would like to have the drawing on loan for a period of time. Thus, we are pleased to make this wonderful work the centerpiece of a small exhibition surrounded by a selection of the engaging drawings from the Penguin archive.
In The Reading Library
Meet Your Friends from Japan!
ともだちは日本にもいるよ！
March 20 - September 3, 2011
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art has a collection of Japanese picture books donated by Japanese publishers, picture book art museums, illustrators, and friends of the museum. In this exhibition, Meet Your Friends from Japan! ともだちは日本にもいるよ！, you are invited into the world of modern Japanese picture books that share similar graphic qualities or imaginative themes as those in Eric Carle’s works. Consequently, you may see Japanese culture in a new light as something that is very different and yet familiar to you.
Tomi’s transportation provided by Air France through Phaidon Press
In The East Gallery
Tomi Ungerer, Chronicler of the Absurd
June 18 - October 9, 2011
This exhibition celebrates Ungerer’s 80th birth year. A trilingual author, Ungerer has published over 140 books ranging from his much loved children’s books to his controversial adult work.
Ungerer’s career, like contemporaries Leo Lionni and Eric Carle, was multi-faceted, encompassing advertising and political commentary. Prior to leaving America, Ungerer arranged for the Free Library of Philadelphia to acquire a substantial portion of his work up until that point.
Selected from archives and private collections, the exhibition documents the bulk of Ungerer’s career as a writer and illustrator of children’s books. Included in the exhibition, among others, will be examples from Ungerer’s first book, The Mellops Go Flying (1957), as well as The Three Robbers (1962), Flat Stanley (1964), and Moon Man (1967).
For more information including Tomi Ungerer related programming and events, click here
Read a recent Publisher's Weekly interview with Tomi Click here.
In The Auditorium
Frank Viva: Along a Long Road
September 23 - November 1, 2011
Speed off on a delightful adventure with Frank Viva as he takes you up, around, down, along, and through his book, Along A Long Road. Explore the rhythmic language and striking illustrative style that have resulted in the Boston Globe describing the book as “…one of those rare picture books that deserves a place not only on a child’s bookshelf but in an art museum – and would be equally at home in both.”
In The Central Gallery
The Heartaches of a French Cat
May 17 - November 27, 2011
In the spring of 2010, Barbara McClintock made a promised gift of the vast majority of materials relating to her award-winning book Heartaches of a French Cat (1989). To celebrate this generous gesture, the Carle is mounting a small exhibition in its central gallery which will be on view from May 17 to November 27, 2011.
Inspired by stories of the 19th-century French authors, Honoré de Balzac and P. J. Stahl, McClintock tells the story entirely in pantomime of an upwardly mobile cat who is wooed and betrayed by a Count of no account. Her anthropomorphic drawings were informed by the highly popular 19th-century French caricaturist J. J. Granville. The book is a wonderful blend of black and white and color illustrations. In addition to the finished works, the exhibition will display a selection of dummies [lay-outs for the final book], character studies, preliminary sketches, and color trials. The exhibition reflects a true labor of love that was acknowledged as one of the top ten children’s books of the year in 1989 by The New York Times.
In The Reading Library
And The Rest Is History: Stories of America’s Children
September 3, 2011 - January 3, 2012
An exhibition of high-quality prints
Come explore history through picture books! From the hardships of Anne Hutchinson’s children in Massachusetts Bay Colony to young protesters from Alabama in the Civil Rights Movement, these books reveal not only events–small and large–from the nation’s past, but also the wide array of childhood experiences throughout American history.
© 2001 by Jules Feiffer
In The East Gallery
Growing Every Which Way But Up: The Children’s Book Art of Jules Feiffer
October 25, 2011 - January 22, 2012
As an artist and writer of probing wit and uncommon humanity, Jules Feiffer has made a breathtakingly varied contribution to America’s cultural life. The Carle will honor his efforts as a children’s book author with this exhibition. Feiffer has excelled in journalism, in film, and off Broadway. The exhibition will focus on his equally prodigious talents as an author and illustrator of children’s books. Book-ended by his collaboration with Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth (1961) and The Odious Ogre (2010), the exhibition focuses on his own books. From I’m Not Bobby! and By The Side Of The Road, where Feiffer heralds “to heck with grownups,” to Bark, George where he aimed at taking the lid off the excessive worry. Feiffer found that picture-book artists and cartoonists lived by many of the same imperatives: the need to instantly grab the reader’s attention, the need to simplify without oversimplifying, and the need to keep the action moving. In sum, this will be a very lively exhibition.
For related programming click here.
See a trailer of the Phantom Toll Booth documentary
click here.
An interview with Leonard Marcus about the Annotated Phantom Tollbooth
click here
Illustration © 2011 by Eric Carle
In The West Gallery
The Art of Eric Carle: The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
September 10, 2011 - March 20, 2012
In anticipation of the October 2011 publication of Eric Carle’s latest book, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, the Museum will be exhibiting its original art beginning September 20, 2011 and remaining on view until March 20, 2012. Executed in his signature colorfully-designed collage technique, the book encourages the young artist to let his/her imagination run free. The story takes inspiration from an episode in Carle’s German school days when he was invited by his art teacher Fridolin Kraus to see the work of artists deemed “degenerate” by the Nazi regime. Among these artists was the German Expressionist Franz Marc, who painted horses blue. It was this subjectivity that had such a galvanizing effect and led to Carle’s determination to become an artist.
by Sharon Robinson, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Scholastic Inc./Scholastic Press. Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Kadir Nelson. Used by permission
In The Central Gallery
Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson
December 3, 2011 - May 6, 2012
Testing the Ice by Sharon Robinson, an educational consultant for Major League Baseball and vice chairman of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and illustrated by the award-winning Kadir Nelson is a story about her father, baseball legend Jackie Robinson. The original art for the book as well as numerous preliminary sketches will be on view in the museum’s Central Gallery from December 13, 2011 until May 6, 2012. It will complement the art, also by Nelson, for We Are the Ship, a history of the Negro Leagues, which will be in the East Gallery from February 7 until June 10, 2012.
On April 15, 1947, Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers and became the first African-American man to play in major league baseball. In 1962, he became the first African-American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. But this is not that story. Daughter Sharon Robinson's story is about an incident that happened in her family after her father retired from baseball. There was a pond behind the house in Stamford Connecticut where the Robinson family moved in 1955. The children wanted to ice skate, and Jackie wanted to be sure the ice was thick enough. One of the very few things he couldn’t do was swim, but that didn’t deter him from making sure his children and their friends would be safe. He went out on the ice, knowing it could have dire consequences. This selfless act illustrates his bravery in his personal life rather than his professional life.
"He was brave when he went out on the ice and he was brave when he went on the baseball field," Nelson said. "My role is really like a documentarian and an author. I shed light on pieces of history that don't always get as much attention as they deserve." In an interview about the book, Nelson said, "You don't want to say something that has already been said; you want to add something to the story."
On April 1, 2012, the museum will host a conversation with Sharon Robinson, Kadir Nelson, and NPR’s Scott Simon, who has written a biography of Jackie Robinson.
See a book trailer with Robinson and Nelson
Tour Management by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services, Kansas City, Missouri
In The East Gallery
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
February 7 - June 10, 2012
"We are the ship; all else the sea."
Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League
On view in the museum’s East Gallery from February 7 until June 10, 2012 will be thirty-three paintings, thirteen sketches and educational materials from the book, WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball, by Kadir Nelson, award-winning artist and author. Nelson spent seven years researching, writing, and creating handsome paintings to be included in the brilliantly illustrated book, WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball, which is dedicated to the preservation of the history of Negro Leagues. During the process of creating the paintings and the book, Nelson interviewed former Negro League players, traveled to museums around the country, pored over old photographs, firsthand testimonies and documentaries, collected baseball memorabilia, sports equipment and uniforms, then posed and photographed himself in them, all with the intention of putting himself in the shoes of a former Negro League player to recreate an authentic depiction of life in the Negro Leagues. This exhibition is the story of the Negro Leagues—the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is a perfect mirror for the social and political history of black America in the first half of the twentieth century. But most of all, the story of the Negro Leagues is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions, and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.
The New York Times named WE ARE THE SHIP one of the Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2008, and Kadir was honored with the 2009 Coretta Scott King Book Award for this work.
On April 1, 2012, the museum will host a conversation with Sharon Robinson, Kadir Nelson, and NPR’s Scott Simon, who has written a biography of Jackie Robinson.
Support for We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball has been generously provided by Disney Publishing Worldwide.
Exhibition-related programming
Interview with Kadir Nelson
www.kadirnelson.com
To preview this exhibition visit
Smith Kramer Traveling Exhibitions
In The West Gallery
The Art of Eric Carle: The Birth of a Book and a Museum
April 3 - September 2, 2012
2012 will mark two ten-year anniversaries for Eric Carle—the opening of the Museum and the publication of “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth. To mark these events, the Museum will put art from the sloth book on view from April 3 until September 2, 2012.
For Eric Carle many of the ideas that he shapes into books come from his own experience. It was his involvement in the creation of this Museum that actually led him to create a book about a sloth. In 2000-2001, weeks and months of thinking, planning, meetings, and decision-making had him going at a hectic pace. Finally, he said, “Enough!” In his studio, with a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door, he decided to seek out something completely opposite from the frantic life he had been living. It was there he discovered the sloth. The slow pace of this animal’s existence sent a powerful message to Eric: we need to slow our lives down.
The story began to emerge slowly, slowly, slowly. He began by investigating the habitat of the sloth and learned about the animals that lived around this lethargic creature. Through the process of creating mock-up books, or “dummies” as they are called, he continually revised the story. On view is only a small selection of these working drafts. In addition, he revised the actual art several times. Also on exhibit are some of his designs for the dust jacket as well as a selection of earlier versions of some of the book’s pages.
Final illustration for Louie, 1975.
Collage and paint on board.
Ezra Jack Keats papers, de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection, McCain Library and Archives, The University of Southern Mississippi. Copyright Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.
In The East Gallery
The Snowy Day
and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats
June 26 - October 14, 2012
The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats is the first major exhibition in this country to pay tribute to award-winning author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats (1916–1983), whose beloved children’s books include Whistle for Willie, Peter’s Chair, and The Snowy Day—the first modern full-color picture book to feature an African-American protagonist. Published in 1962, at the height of the civil rights movement in America, the book went on to become an inspiration for generations of readers, transforming children’s literature forever.
The exhibition, curated by Claudia J. Nahson of The Jewish Museum in New York City, features over 70 original works by the artist, from preliminary sketches and dummies or preparatory books, to final paintings and collages, including examples of Keats’s most introspective but less-known output inspired by Asian art and poetry.
The Snowy Day and The Art of Ezra Jack Keats is organized by The Jewish Museum, New York, from the collection of the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, The University of Southern Mississippi. The exhibition was funded at The Jewish Museum through a generous grant from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. Additional support was provided by the Joseph Alexander Foundation, the Alfred J. Grunebaum Fund, and the Winnick Family Foundation.
thejewishmuseum.org
Exhibition support at The Carle has been generously provided by Penguin Young Readers Group and the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.
Our British Cousins: The Magical Art of Maisy and Friends
May 22 - November 25, 2012
Lucy Cousins is the creator of the beloved Maisy series. She is also the author-illustrator of numerous other stories, including the widely acclaimed Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book, as well as I’m the Best and Hooray for Fish! The Eric Carle Museum is pleased to announce it will host a survey of this wonderful artist’s work: Our British Cousins: The Magical Art of Maisy and Friends in the central gallery. The exhibition, comprising forty works, will be on view from May 22 until November 25, 2012. Lucy Cousins, who lives in Hampshire, England, will make a special visit to the Museum in the fall [consult the website for updated information]. The generosity of Candlewick Press and Walker Books UK have made this exhibition and Lucy’s visit possible.
Support for Our British Cousins: The Magical Art of Maisy and Friends has been generously provided by Candlewick Press.
Members Only Event
Starry Night
A Special Member Event celebrating
The Carle’s 10th Anniversary
& Opening of the Exhibition Iconic Images: Ten Years of Collecting for The Carle
November 10, 2012
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Join us for a light dinner buffet, gallery visits with featured artists, an exhibition of stars by picture book artists of the valley, bookshop boutique, musical performances, and special remarks by Eric and Barbara Carle.
This event is free for Members, but space is limited, so please reserve early. Accepts only to Jennifer Darling Stasinos (413) 658-1104 or jennys@carlemuseum.org
We regret that this event is full due to limited space and we can no longer take reservations. Please join us on Sunday, November 11th for the Book Signing Bash.
Dinner by Portabella Catering; Wines by Provisions
Beyond Books: The Independent Art of Eric Carle
September 30, 2012 - February 24, 2013
Eric Carle is primarily known for The Very Hungry Caterpillar and over 70 picture books done in his colorful collage technique. For the first time, fans will have a chance to see the remarkable variety of paintings, sculptures, and personal sketches that he has been making privately for more than 60 years. Starting with his career as a poster artist in the 1940s and carrying through to the street photographs he is shooting today, this exhibition, Beyond Books: The Independent Art of Eric Carle, provides viewers a chance to see what Eric himself calls his “ArtArt.” This selection provides a surprisingly intimate window into the full range of his imagination and talents. The categories include: 1)Early posters and book jackets; 2)Linoleum cuts, created for several adult titles by other authors; 3)Caricature notes: funny and irreverent hand-drawn notes written to friends; 4) Non-representational art or “Art Art:" abstract painted tissue paper collages created between picture book projects; 5)“Name Art:” names of close friends and colleagues captured in his famous painted tissue paper; 6) Metal sculptures/Glass sculptures: forays into three-dimensional realms, including metal sculptures and painted glass assemblages in collusion with his friend and renowned glass artist Tom Patti; 7) Costumes/Drawings: costumes and a set for The Magic Flute stage concert performed by The Springfield Symphony in 2001; 8) Photographic street art: Studies in colors, shapes, and textures, Carle’s recent “found art” photographs have their roots early in his career; 9) A large Tyvek mural (approximately 10 x 20’) for other participating venues.
Support for Beyond Books: The Independent Art of Eric Carle has been generously provided by Peter and Helen Bing.
In The Great Hall
A Constellation of Stars
by Picture Book Artists of the Valley
November 10, 2012 - February 24, 2013
In the spirit of the holidays, the Museum's Great Hall will shine, inside and out, with white lights in the orchard and an installation of more than a dozen stars created by picture book artists of the Valley. Artists have chosen a range of materials for their stars, including paper, papier-mâché, foam core, wire, found objects, and photographs. Participating artists include Kathryn Brown, Eric Carle, David Hyde Costello, Diane deGroat, Jane Dyer, Scott M. Fischer, Linda Graves, John Steven Gurney, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Jeff Mack, Bob Marstall, Lauren Mills, Shelley Rotner, and Astrid Sheckels.
Tillie and The Wall, Knopf © 1989 by Leo Lionni
In The East Gallery
Iconic Images: Ten Years of Collecting for The Carle
November 6, 2012 - March 10, 2013
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, The Carle is mounting an exhibition, Iconic Images: Ten Years of Collecting for The Carle, which will draw on its permanent collection of more than 10,000 illustrations. Visitors will have a chance to see examples from the extraordinary collection the Museum has been able to build in a relatively short time thanks to the generosity of artists, artists’ families, and collectors who want their artwork preserved and shared. Artists on view will include Leo Lionni, William Steig, Ludwig Bemelmans, Maurice Sendak, Margot Zemach, Petra Mathers, Arnold Lobel, Rosemary Wells, Ashley Bryan, Simms Taback, Jerry Pinkney, and Trina Schart Hyman. “I don’t think Eric and Bobbie fully anticipated when they planned the Museum just how quickly this collection would become significant,” said Executive Director, Alexandra Kennedy.
In The Central Gallery
Some Book! Some Art!: Selected Drawings by Garth Williams for Charlotte’s Web
December 11, 2012 - April 21, 2013
Charlotte's Web, by acclaimed author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams, is one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century children’s literature. White’s elegant prose and Williams’s exquisite drawings form a spirited dialogue that constitutes a conversation of substance and style. And to this day it is a book beloved by young and old. The sale of the Charlotte’s Web drawings last October caused quite a stir. Everyone connected with the world of children’s book art was thrilled by the strong prices. Thus, to celebrate our purchase, Williams’s 100th birthday, the 60th anniversary of Charlotte’s Web, and the Museum’s 10th year, the Carle is assembling a key group of the drawings from the book dispersed in the sale to be on view in its central gallery from December 11, 2012 until April 22, 2013. The exhibition, Some Book! Some Art!: Selected Drawings by Garth Williams for Charlotte’s Web, will comprise approximately 30 finished drawings, as well as a selection of preliminary sketches to help articulate the artist’s working process. Consequently, the exhibition will offer a wonderful celebration of a book that has touched innumerable readers since its publication.
Support for Some Book! Some Art!: Selected Drawings by Garth Williams for Charlotte’s Web has been generously provided by HarperCollins Children's Books.