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.
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
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.