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 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 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.
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 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 West Gallery
Creative Connections:
The Art of Eric Carle and Leo Lionni
February 3 - September 3, 2006
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.
The Museum is pleased to exhibit the work of Dutch born Lionni in conjunction with GoDutch! The exhibit will also feature some of Carle’s illustrations from The Hole in the Dike an adaptation of Mary Mapes Dodge's classic tale about a boy who saves Holland from a disastrous flood.
In The East Gallery
Dancing Line and Merry Color:
The Worlds of Margot and Kaethe Zemach
July 25 - November 7, 2004
Margot Zemach (1931-1989) illustrated nearly 50 books in her career. She was a superb illustrator, both in execution and in her incresingly encompassing vision of the world, and drew and painted with unbounded joy, concentration, and wit. Margot's was a comic genius that was was as deep as it was humanely funny. The humerous, rustic types from her earlier books were ideally suited for the sparkling tales of Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Like many before and after them, Margot and her husband Harve inspired one of their own children-Kaethe-to persue the profession. It is notoriously difficult for offspring to carry on in the footsteps of distinguished parents. Kaethe Zemach has done so in a manner that, in its respectful homage as well as in its total originality, is both moving and impressive. The Eric Carle Museum is pleased to present its first multi-genrational exhibition and hopes it will be the first of many.
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.
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.
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.
Support for this exhibition has been provided by Penguin Young Readers Group.
In The East Gallery
Dutch Treats: Contemporary Illustration from The Netherlands
March 28 - June 25, 2006
Continuing to delight American audiences with picture book art from around the world, the Eric Carle Museum is honored to present an exhibition of contemporary Dutch illustrations from the Netherlands. This exhibit will include Dutch favorites Dick Bruna (Miffy series), Max Velthuijs (Frog series) as well as introduce some new favorites!
This exhibition has been made possible in part by generous support from UBS and by a grant from the Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam. Additional support has been received from The Consulate General of The Netherlands in New York and the Foundation of Production and Translation of Dutch Literature. This exhibit is a part of GoDutch! a Pioneer Valley, MA-wide celebration of Dutch art and culture in the Spring/Summer 2006. (www.museums10.org)
In The East Gallery
East Gallery Re-installation in Progress
September 28 - October 14, 2010
The Carle is preparing the East Gallery for Monsters and Miracles: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books.
In The East Gallery
East Gallery re-installation in progress
January 25 - February 7, 2011
The Carle is preparing the East Gallery for What a Circus! The Art of Etienne Delessert
opening February 8, 2011.
In The East Gallery
East Gallery re-installation in progress.
June 7 - June 17, 2011
The Carle is preparing the East Gallery for Tomi Ungerer, Chronicler of the Absurd
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.
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.
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.
In The East Gallery
From the Silver Age to Stalin: Russian Children's Book Illustration in the Sasha Lurye Collection
November 7, 2003 - January 18, 2004
Drawn from the Private Collection of Sasha Lurye, the exhibition explores the beauty and artistry of illustration from the last years of the Czars to the Soviet dictatorship under Stalin. The range of work encompasses a rich diversity of artistic expression from Art Nouveau and Constructivism to the politically charged realism that reinforced Soviet dogma. Among the more than seventy original works of art are examples by Ivan Bilibin, Vladimir Lebedev, and Vera Ermolaeva as well as printed books with art by Marc Chagall, El Lissitzky, and Alexandr Rodchenko. That so much of this work survived revolution, retribution, and censorship is truly remarkable.
In The West Gallery
Gallery in Transition
September 5 - September 18, 2011
Our new exhibition The Art of Eric Carle: The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse will open on September 20, 2011.
In The West Gallery
Gallery in Transition
March 21 - April 1, 2012
Thank you for your patience as we install a new Eric Carle exhibition in the West Gallery.
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.
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 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.
© 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
In The East Gallery
Heart and Humor: The Picture Book Art of William Steig
February 8 - April 25, 2004
In its continuing aim to showcase the masters of the picture book genre, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is delighted to present the work of the renowned William Steig, whose long and distinguished career as an author and illustrator of children's books was all the more remarkable given that the artist was sixty-one when he created his first picture book, CDB! The exhibition, curated by independent scholar, Jane Bayard Curley, feautures work from Steig's key publications, including Dr. DeSoto, and offers several examples from each book to provide a deeper understanding of Steig's artistic approach. The Museum's goal is to provide a fitting tribute to a remarkable talent who has influenced countless readers, writers, and artists.
This exhibition has been made possible by a generous grant from Peter and Helen Bing.
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.
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.
In The East Gallery
Leo Lionni: A Passion for Creativity
July 13 - October 19, 2003
Exploring the work of one of the most beloved picture book artists of the twentieth century, this exhibition surveys Lionni's career through a selection of his major works, and highlights the artist's consistant aesthetic of elegant design, magical draftmanship, and universal message. Included are examples from Inch by Inch(1960), the story of an inchworm who resonates with Carle's hungry caterpillar, as well as from such favorites such as Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse and Fish is Fish (1970). In addition, examples of Lionni's drawing, printmaking, and sculpture help to round out or view of this master, who saw the picture book as theater, its pages the stage on which his protagonists could act out social dramas.
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.
In The East Gallery
Maurice Sendak: Inside and Out
November 22, 2002 - January 12, 2003
Celebrating the life and work of this rennowned author and illustrator of more than 70 books, Maurice Sendak: Inside and Outexamines this master's interior scenes and rich landscapes and traces his artistic influences through inclusion of works by Albrecht Durer and Winslow Homer.
© 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. Click here to purchase catalog.
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.
© 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.
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.
In The East Gallery
Nancy Ekholm Burkert: The Art of Illustration
January 31 - March 30, 2003
From James and the Giant Peach (1961) and Acts of Light (1980) to Valentine & Orson (1989), Nancy Ekholm Burkert's extraordinary body of work exemplifies the fine art and meticulous art of illustration. Her masterfully-drafted and painstakingly-researched treatments of universal themes such as the search for love and respect for the natural world draw us into new magical realms.
Highlights of the exhibition include the exploration of Burkert's artistic process, from preliminary drawings to her use of a rich variety of source materials.
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 East Gallery
Painter and Poet: The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan
July 23 - November 6, 2005
Artist Statement
I can't remember a time when I have not been drawing and painting. In kindergarten, when I learned the alphabet and then drew the pictures for each letter, it was a wonderful experience because the teacher said I had published a book when I reached the end and sewed it together. Because of the encouragement I received as a child, in school and at home, I continued doing those books. I don't know how much those experiences were actually behind what I'm doing now in a direct sense, but it was the spirit in which it was opened to me, that in which I really believed.
-Ashley Bryan
This exhiibition has been made possible in part by generous support from Antheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing.
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.
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).
Uptown Apollo
In The East Gallery
Picture Stories: A Celebration of African American Illustrators
March 24 - June 17, 2007
Celebrating the art of twelve African-American illustrators, Picture Stories provides an engaging and informative overview of the African-American tapestry through visual narratives, which resound with authentic voices. The art, chosen to present a wide spectrum of scenes and events, includes folktales, traditions, cultural experiences, and individual contributions, all of which define the proud heritage of Black History.
Picture Stories: A Celebration of African American Illustrators has been made possible by a generous grant from Helen and Peter Bing.
In The East Gallery
Picturing the World: The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen
November 19, 2005 - March 12, 2006
In the forty-three years they worked together, Alice and Martin Provensen illustrated fifty-one books, including beloved Golden Book favorites and Caldecott award winning, The Glorius Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot, July 25, 1909.
They met in 1943 working at the animation department of the Walter Lantz Studio, creator of the "Woody Woodpecker" cartoons, the experience taught them the advantages of making art collaboratively. This exhibit will showcase how working so closely over the years the Provensen's styles became indistinguishable.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by generous support from Random House / Golden Books Young Readers Group
Photo by Process Artists
In The Central Gallery
PROCESS: From Person to Pencil to Published
May 12 - December 10, 2006
Whether immediate and visceral, or detailed and sophisticated, every picture book illustration starts with thumbnail sketches, diagrams, and rough ideas. Even the simplest published page is the culmination of a vast amount of trial and error. This exhibit peels away the page to take a look at the inspirational material, failed ideas, and
sparks that are eventually harnessed to produce successful children’s illustrations. The show will focus on the work of four leading artist/illustrators. Kadir Nelson (He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands), Brian Selznick (Walt Whitman: Words for America), Mo Willems (Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale), and Betsy Lewin (Animal Snackers).
In The East Gallery
Quentin Blake:
The Theater of the Page
November 7, 2006 - March 11, 2007
With hundreds of books to his name, Quentin Blake has become a “British Institution” and a global treasure, both for his own books and for his celebrated partnership with Roald Dahl, which began in 1978 with Blake’s illustrations for The Enormous Crocodile. Tracing the life and work of this master, The Carle’s exhibition explores many aspects of Blake’s style, process, and collaborations: from the high comedy of Mr. Magnolia and many of the Roald Dahl books, to the reflective, atmospheric mood that prevails in The Green Ship and Michael Rosen’s Sad Book. Reflecting Blake’s many artistic influences, works by Honoré Daumier, George Cruickshank, and Pablo Picasso are also included.
This exhibition has been generously underwritten by the Triad Foundation.
Mindy whispered her name
In The Central Gallery
Richard Yarde: Stompin at the Savoy
December 22, 2006 - April 29, 2007
Richard Yarde is one of the foremost watercolor painters working in America today. A passionate lover of music and dance, he has found inspiration many times in the irrepressible energy of the Savoy Ballroom, which from 1926 to 1958 was home to some of the greatest dancers and musicians of the swing era. In creating his first book for children, Yarde has teamed up with the equally accomplished author, Bebe Moore Campbell, to tell a story deeply rooted in the themes and symbols of the African American experience of a little girl, Mindy, whose reluctance to perform her dance recital evaporates when she is spirited away to the Savoy Ballroom. Mr. Yarde is a professor of art at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
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.
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.
In The West Gallery
Selections from the Art of Eric Carle:
Beginning with Bears
September 15, 2006 - January 28, 2007
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: Beginning with Bears explores the evolution of Carle’s collage technique beginning with examples of works created to illustrate his first book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, written by Bill Martin, Jr. This exhibition will also feature examples of Carle’s non-book art as well as recent acquisitions from the Museum’s permanent collection.
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.
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.
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.
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
Grandfather's Journey
In The East Gallery
The Art of Allen Say: A Sense of Place
July 3 - October 28, 2007
Organized in honor of Allen Say’s 70th birthday, The Art of Allen Say: A Sense of Place explores both the technical mastery and thematic complexity of this prolific artist and author. Trained as a commercial photographer, Say found his place writing and illustrating children’s books somewhat by chance in the 1970s. Author of more than twenty works since then, including Grandfather’s Journey (1993), which won the Caldecott Medal in 1994, Say has spent much of his career exploring the rich divide between his Japanese youth and his American coming of age. It is his ability to convey sentiments of alienation and dislocation in ways that speak directly to children that make his books so remarkable. The exhibition is comprised mostly of Say’s illustrations for books, but also contains examples of his commercial photography and oil painting to underscore the full measure of his creative talent, as well as his unifying aesthetic.
The Art of Allen Say: A Sense of Place has been supported in part by a gift from Walter Lorraine Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.
10 Little Rubber Ducks
In The West Gallery
The Art of Eric Carle: Eric Carle Picture Writer
February 9 - September 2, 2007
As one of the most acclaimed authors and illustrators of our time, Eric Carle’s work has world-wide appeal. Selections from Eric Carle Picture Writer explore the sources of some of Carle’s stories, his highly acclaimed collage technique, and a small glimpse at some of the preliminary stages involved in the creation of a book. This exhibition will also feature examples of Carle’s non-book art, as well as recent acquisitions from the Museum’s permanent collection.
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).
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.
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.
In The East Gallery
The Art of Mitsumasa Anno: Bridging Cultures
April 15 - June 29, 2003
The first-ever American retrospective of the art of Mitsumasa Anno explores the genius and wit of this Japanese master, whose world famous work, including Anno's ABC and Anno's U.S.A., has been described as "an adventure in imagination." The exhibition features some of Anno's most admired and highlights his fascinated study of nature, art, history, travel, and literature, as well as his intense interest in the themes of time, space, and place.
Major financial assistance has been provided by the Asahi Shimbun, All Nippon Airlines (ANA), and Mr. Motoo Ito of the Book Globe Company.
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 East Gallery
The Many Paths of Dr. Seuss: Four Points of the Compass
May 7 - July 11, 2004
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art invites you to explore this exhibition of rarely seen original art from Dr. Seuss's first (And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street), last (Oh, the Places You'll Go!), and two most politically charged books (The Lorax and The Butter Battle Book). The Mulberry Street drawings have never been exhibited before, having been in private hands until recently, and The Lorax drawings are i the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas-the gift of the artist in honor of Ladybird Johnson's commitment to environmental issues. The art for these two books is the only material not in the Seuss Archive at the University of California at San Diego where the balence of the exhibition originates. The Butter Battle Book addresses the issue of nuclear proliforation, while Oh, the Place You'll Go! has become a perennial favorite during graduation season.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by generous support from the Hsin Yi Foundation, Taiwan, Random House, Inc., and The Dr. Seuss Foundation and Audrey Geisel.
In The East Gallery
The Mysteries of Chris Van Allsburg
November 20, 2004 - March 13, 2005
Throughout his career as both sculptor and picture book artist, Chris Van Allsburg has combined a keen appreciation for the mysteries of life with an arresting sense of its beauty. In Van Allsburg's universe, boats sail through clouds; a jungle stone transforms men into moneys; and entire dramas are captured in a single striking image. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is delighted to present the work of this acknowledged master in a mid-career retrospective that includes his equally intriguing and exquistely refined sculpture.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by generous support from Houghton Mifflin.
In The East Gallery
The Picture Book Made New: Margaret Wise Brown and Her Illustrators
March 29 - July 10, 2005
A pivotal figure in the evolution of the picture book, Margaret Wise Brown authored Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, and other groundbreaking books for the very young; championed the careers of a generation of illustrators; and, by cross-fertilizing ideas drawn from progressive education and the modernist avant-garde, transformed the picture book into a vibrant contemporary art form. The Eric Calre Museum is delighted to exhibit the largest selection of art from Brown's
books ever assembled, including works by Clement Hurd, Leonard Weisgard, Garth Williams, Esphyr Slobodkina, Ylla, Tibor Gergely, the Provensen's, and others.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by generous support from HarperCollins Publishers.
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.
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 80 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.
In The East Gallery
The Wonderful Art of Oz
July 11 - October 22, 2006
This summer, The Eric Carle Museum presents an unprecedented exhibition devoted to one of the world's most beloved tales of adventure and discovery. Organized in honor of the 150th anniversary of Oz series creator, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Art of Oz brings together the full range of artistic interpretations of Baum's most famous story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, from W.W. Denslow's original Art Nouveau illustrations for the first edition, to works by his successor, John R. Neill, and more recent versions by Barry Moser, Charles Santore, Lisbeth Zwerger, Robert Sabuda, Trina Schart Hyman, Chris Van Allsburg, Paul Zelinsky, and Eric Carle.
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
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.
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 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.
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.
Interview with Kadir Nelson
www.kadirnelson.com
Boston Globe Kadir Nelson article
See preview of exhibition on Ch. 40
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
West (Eric Carle) Gallery Closed Temporarily
January 30 - February 8, 2007
The West Gallery, featuring the work of Eric Carle, will be CLOSED for reinstallation beginning January 30 and will reopen on February 9, 2007 with The Art of Eric Carle. We apologize for any inconvenience.
In The West Gallery
West Gallery Closed
March 30 - April 4, 2010
The West Gallery, containing the art of Eric Carle, will be closed March 30 - April 4. A new exhibition entitled Eric Carle: Prints and Papers will open on Tuesday, April 6. We apologize for any inconvenience.
In The West Gallery
West Gallery Closed
September 4 - September 29, 2012
Thank you for your patience as we install a new Eric Carle exhibition in the West Gallery. Beyond Books: The Independent Art of Eric Carle will open on September 30, 2012.
In The West Gallery
West Gallery re-installation in progress.
September 14 - September 21, 2010
The Carle is preparing the West Gallery for Eric Carle's A Feast for the Eyes - featuring Eric's food-related artwork.
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.
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.
Recent media:
Swiss Illustrator is Anthing But Bland
I"m Really What They Call in The States 'Outsider Art'
Questions Over Breakfast with Etienne Delessert
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
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.