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Classic works by children’s book artists are bound to impress all ages at Lyman Allyn
The artwork by Maurice Sendak is a whole other animal from what fans of “Where the Wild Things Are” might expect. It’s a delicate ink drawing of a bird and a mouse from “Memoirs of a Mouse.” The bird stands with his back to the viewer, all the better to appreciate his elaborate plumage, and the mouse hunkers to the ground, with its tail drifting straight upward.
In another gallery inside the Lyman Allyn Art Museum is a drawing by Chris Van Allsburg — a peek into his efforts in creating his best- selling book “Jumanji.” It’s remarkably detailed work, and rich with light and shadow. Birds are fluttering onto a statue of a man on horseback, and the sibling characters of Judy and Peter are in the distance, caught mid- scamper as they head into the park beyond.
The Lyman Allyn is currently alight with illustrations by 28 gifted artists known for their children’s books — Sendak and Van Allsburg being the most famous.
All of the artists have won the Caldecott Award or Caldecott Honor — the biggest awards in the world of children’s book illustration. ( The Award goes to the winner, with the Honors given to runners- up.)
The exhibition “Young at Art: A Selection of Caldecott Book Illustrations” comes from the Wichita Falls Museum of Art’s permanent collection. It boasts the original illustrations that were used for the books, as well as a selection of the actual books so viewers can compare and contrast.
Jane LeGrow, director of exhibitions at the Lyman Allyn, says, “All these works were produced specifically to be reproduced, not to be seen as the originals. So some are on less- than- ideal paper because ( the illustrators) weren’t expecting to keep them forever and ever. Or they have little tape marks because they were taped up to their drawing board. Or staple marks or notes in the margins — all that’s really interesting to see the process.
“You get a glimpse into the process of the illustrator and the differences that you see between the draft and the final product. But seeing them in person is something different.
The unique thing about museums is to see the real thing, the real McCoy, the actual artifact. That is one thing we can provide with this show that you can’t get at a bookstore or just by having these books on your child’s shelf.”
LeGrow says that when publishers print picture books, they do try very hard to get the color and images accurate.
“But there’s no substitute for seeing a painting in real life,” she says. “… Being able to see things like the actual brushstrokes, sometimes if there’s a glaze on a painting, you get a kind of depth to the colors or richness.”
In addition to the work from the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas, Lyman Allyn included pieces from two renowned illustrators from Connecticut who have earned Caldecott plaudits.
Two paintings by Pamela Zagarenski, who lives in Stonington, are showcased from her 2013 book “Sleep Like a Tiger.”
“The pieces she brought are these gorgeous acrylic on wood ( creations), very luminous, sort of mystical paintings,” LeGrow says.
Another Nutmegger — Tomie dePaola, a Meriden native who died in March — has work featured, too.
“We were recently gifted a piece by a friend of the museum that’s a print — it’s possibly a Christmas card or a thing ( dePaola) would give out at the holidays. It has same style as ( his Caldecott Medal- winning) ‘ Strega Nona,’ and it’s about the same time period,” LeGrow says. “That literally came in as we were preparing the show, and we thought we should definitely include it.”
About the artists
Visitors can not only see illustrations by these renowned artists, but they can also learn about them in the wall text.
For instance: what inspired Sendak to become an illustrator was seeing “Fantasia,” that wildly creative animated feature from Disney, when
he was 12 years old. He became an early member of the National Board of Advisors of the Children’s Television Workshop as “Sesame Street” was being developed.
Van Allsburg, the text notes, “balances the wild incongruity in his stories with illustrations containing a nearly photographic sensitivity to realistic light and shadow. Van Allsburg’s drawings are notable as well for their use of shifting perspective, sometimes depicting the world as seen from a child’s eye, sometimes from an adult, sometimes from the floating perspective of an omnipotent viewer.”
An illustration that didn’t make the book
Different aspects of an illustration and an artist are explored in “Young at Art.”
Beni Montresor’s illustration from “May I Bring a Friend?” boasts written notations that “serve as a map of its colors,” the wall text
states. “Each combination of numbers and letters … denote the coverage density of each of the ink colors — red, yellow, and blue — used in the final printing of the books.”
While the show features Jerry Pinkney’s preliminary illustration for “The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South,” the drawing isn’t in the published book, which is on the shelf in the gallery. The wall text asks viewers: “Can you find the characters from this watercolor in the book? Can you guess where this missing picture would go in the story, paying attention to details like clothing? Why do you think the artist did not use it?”
And a quote from Elizabeth Orton Jones, alongside one of her illustrations for “Prayer for a Child,” eloquently describes her view of drawing. She said in her Caldecott acceptance speech: “Drawing is very like a prayer. Drawing is a reaching for something away beyond you. As you sit down to work in the morning, you feel as if you were on top of a hill. And it is as if you were seeing for the first time. You take you pencil in hand. You’d like to draw what you see. And so you begin. You try … I should like every child in the world to know that he has a hill, that that hill is his no matter what happens, his and his only, forever.”
Exemplars in their field
Discussing the exhibit, LeGrow says that, at Lyman Allyn, “We’re always looking to bring in exhibits that will connect with families and with people of all ages. Sometimes we have shows that have a more sophisticated concept that don’t appeal to kids, but we really do try to make it a family- friendly museum and to bring in things that are going to have wide- ranging appeal. And for art that might have an entry point for people who aren’t used to going to art museums.”
Children’s books are certainly accessible and relatable, and, beyond that, they are an integral part of childhood and hold a lot of good memories for adults, she notes.
Seeing the original illustrations, LeGrow says, “gives us an opportunity to look at this artwork as something that’s really elevated ( and) give it its due. These are exemplars in their field.”