Rockwell Museum to Display Award-Winning Picturebook Artist's Work
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Following the recent honor of receiving the 2010 Caldecott Medal for his children's picturebook "The Lion and the Mouse," artist Jerry Pinkney will be further recognized this fall with the first major overview of his extraordinary and influential career, which spans 50 years; "Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney" will be on view at Norman Rockwell Museum from Nov. 13 through May 31, 2011."This groundbreaking exhibition examines how one very talented artist managed to overcome obstacles and create powerful stories that have literally become the country's collective memory," says Norman Rockwell Museum Deputy Director Stephanie Plunkett, who co-curated the exhibition. "Jerry Pinkney is the master of the American picturebook," says Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies curator Dr. Joyce K. Schiller. "He has managed to bring historical events to life through the magic of his beautiful and sometimes fanciful imagery."
"Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney" presents an overview of the artist's long and varied career as a designer and illustrator. The exhibition touches on such deeply felt personal and cultural themes as the African-American experience; the wonders of classic literature; and the wisdom in well-loved folk tales. A belief in the ability of images to speak about and to humanity is at the artist's core, and the works featured in the exhibition celebrate both small yet extraordinary moments, as well as significant historical events, reflecting the transformative power of visual storytelling in our lives.
More than 140 of Pinkney's luminous watercolors illustrations will be on full display, and include work from such classic picture books as "A Patchwork Quilt" (1985), "Home Place" (1990), "John Henry" (1994), "Minty: A Story of a Young Harriet Tubman" (1996), "Black Cowboy, Wild Horses" (1998), "The Little Match Girl" (1999), "Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales" (1999), "The Old African" (2005), "The Lion and the Mouse" (2009), and "Sweethearts of Rhythm" (2009). Illustrated commissions for such clients as music artists, National Geographic, and The African Burial Ground Interpretive Center will also be on view, as well as a collection of the artist's supplies, personal photos, book awards, and Museum produced-video and interactive displays, which further highlight the artist's career and inspirations.
"I feel I've been helping to establish a new cultural understanding," says Pinkney. "As I learn about a new subject, I in turn open the door for other to also learn."
