Let’s Talk! Animals from the Collection

August 8, 2020 - January 24, 2021
East Gallery

Frog and Toad, Stuart Little, Peter Rabbit, and Noisy Nora are some of the beloved picture book characters visitors met 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!includes 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. 

Curated by Ellen Keiter and Cathryn M. Mercier, PhD.