Picture Play: Illustrations Made for Young Booklovers

Roger Duvoisin Gallery
Sep 02, 2008 - Jan 11, 2009

Images made to delight the very young as well as the young at heart selected from the Rutgers Collection of Original Illustrations for Children’s Literature include works by Frank Asch, Maginel Wright Barney, Tony Chen, William Pène du Bois, Roger Duvoisin, Shari Halpern, Catherine Stock, Ward Schumaker, and Art Seiden. The illustrations explore various themes beloved of young children include counting, rhymes and games, animals, fantasy, and images from everyday life.

Cheerful, witty illustrations by Catherine Stock for Trot Trot to Boston enliven a collection of play rhymes for very young children and their parents and caregivers to enjoy together. Ward Schumaker’s preparatory drawings for Toddler Two-Step offer a dynamic visual interpretation of a counting rhyme that is also a dance.

Art Seiden’s precise, detailed illustrations of vehicles for All Kinds of Trucks appeal to children who love all things with wheels, while illustrations by Tony Chen for The Cosy Book and by Shari Halpern for What Shall We Do When We All Go Out? celebrate the joyful activities of everyday life. Illustrations by Maginel Wright Barney for Thumbelina, by William Pène du Bois for Otto at Sea, and preparatory gouache paintings by Roger Duvoisin for a little boy was drawing explore imaginary worlds in which the hero, with whom the child may identify, may be tiny, gigantic, or cast in an unusual new role. In these fantasies, the hero always possesses special qualities that allow him or her to transcend the environment.

While the illustrations exhibit diversity in style and medium, each artist employs composition and color to appeal to very young audience and express the varied texts in vibrant visual images.

Hands-on activities provided in the gallery allow visitors to express their own creativity.

Admission:
$3.00 per person for adults who are not members of the museum. Entrance to the museum is free at all times for members, all children under 18, and Rutgers University students, faculty, and staff with a valid I.D. In addition, the first Sunday of each month will be free to all.

Museum Hours: