Upcoming Exhibitions
IN THE East Gallery
Let's Talk! Animals from the Collection
Frog and Toad, Stuart Little, Peter Rabbit, and Noisy Nora are some of the beloved picture book characters visitors will meet in Let’s Talk! Animals from the Collection. The exhibition examines the longstanding tradition of anthropomorphism—giving human characteristics to animals—in children’s literature. Let’s Talk! features art from The Carle’s world-class holdings. Included are E. H. Shepard’s watercolors of Winnie-the-Pooh, Beatrix Potter’s exquisite drawings of Peter Rabbit, curiosities from Alice in Wonderland, as well as familiar faces from Aesop’s Fables and Little Red Riding Hood. Historical gems by Jean de Brunhoff, Alice Bolam Preston, Leo Lionni, Arnold Lobel, James Marshall, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, and Garth Williams are featured alongside contemporary illustrators such as Ashley Bryan, Petra Mathers, Jerry Pinkney, Rosemary Wells, and Mo Willems.
Exhibition design by Katie Craig.
IN THE Central Gallery
Eric Carle's Angels: An Homage to Paul Klee
At the age of 87, Eric Carle embarked on a series of found-object collages depicting angels. He dedicated these abstract assemblages to the artist Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879-1940), who created over 70 drawings and paintings of angels during his lifetime. “Klee and his angels have become my strange and mysterious passion,” says Carle. “Several years ago I began to feel the need to honor Klee’s angels in visual form.” Carle created 20 angels in a spirit of playful improvisation, unbound from the restraints of a picture book. Exhibited for the first time, the angels reveal his artistic interests and influences. Carle’s angels—singular, bold, three-dimensional—are testament to the expressive power of collage in the hands of a master.
IN THE West Gallery
Eric Carle: Just for Laughs
An orange elephant, a fish in a birdcage, a snake entwined in spaghetti—Eric Carle’s sense of humor shines through in his picture books. This exhibition features comical collages from The Mixed-Up Chameleon (1975), The Grouchy Ladybug (1977), The Greedy Python (1985), and The Nonsense Show (2015). On view for the first time are four of Carle’s amusing illustrations from the 1971 book The Scarecrow Clock. A selection of illustrated letters and thank you notes further reveal Carle’s wit and personal relationships.
This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Hsin-Yi Foundation.
Exhibition design by Katie Craig.
IN THE East Gallery
Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement in Children's Books
The exhibition is the first of its kind to delve into the events, people, and themes of the civil rights movement as told through picture books. More than 80 artworks evoke the power of the era that shaped American history and continues to reverberate today. Picture the Dream presents three thematic sections exploring the forces that sparked the civil rights movement, its key players and events, and stories about the reemergence of activism in contemporary America. From Brown vs. the Board of Education and the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the March on Washington and Black Lives Matter, the picture books’ topics bridge the past and present, emphasizing how historical moments and leaders continue to inspire the struggle for equal rights.
Picture the Dream is co-organized with the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, where the exhibition debuts on June 18. Curated by Andrea Davis Pinkney, a Carle trustee and New York Times-bestselling and award-winning children’s book author, the exhibition features work by 44 artists including Benny Andrews, Bryan Collier, Raúl Colón, Floyd Cooper, R. Gregory Christie, Ekua Holmes, Kadir Nelson, Brian Pinkney, Jerry Pinkney, Sean Qualls and Selina Alko, and Faith Ringgold.
