The Very Hungry Caterpillar
In The West Gallery
80/40: Celebrating the Birthdays of Eric Carle and The Very Hungry Caterpillar
February 10 - August 30, 2009
In celebration of Eric Carle’s 80th Birthday and the 40th Anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the Museum will organize 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, his best-known work, the visitor will experience the full spectrum of Eric’s creative genius.
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 coming 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.
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 Old Story, 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 multivalent talents.