Exhibition Celebrates 25 Years of Work by Historical Picture Book Illustrator Wendell Minor
Saturday, November 9, 2013 – Monday, May 26, 2014

Image credit: Wendell Minor, “Abraham Lincoln Comes Home,” 2008. Cover illustration for “Abraham Lincoln Comes Home” by Robert Burleigh, Henry Holt and Co. Watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©Wendell Minor. All rights reserved.

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, invites families to “Wendell Minor’s America,” a special exhibition featuring more than 150 original artworks, artifacts, and references from illustrator Wendell Minor’s distinguished portfolio.

The award-winning illustrator drew his way through childhood in Aurora, Illinois, inspired by the richly illustrated magazines that were so much a part of American life during the mid-twentieth century. The exhibition celebrates his many cover illustrations and his 25th anniversary illustrating children’s books, each of which has been inspired by Minor’s love of history, art, science, and the natural world…

Minor has even been personally inspired by the work of Norman Rockwell himself: “…in 1954 I looked at [Rockwell’s ‘Saturday Evening Post’ cover, ‘Breaking Home Ties’], and said, ‘I’m going to go away someday, to school and learn how to draw. I think every Rockwell painting that I saw gave me that sense of wanting to find that America [that Rockwell captured].”

Wendell Minor’s works on display at the Rockwell Museum this fall/winter season truly capture that America, “from sea to shining sea, reflecting on the artist’s love of our country’s varied landscape” and history, and his deep respect for natural environments.

The Norman Rockwell Museum has planned an extensive set of events and programs relating to the Wendell Minor exhibition:

Exhibition-Related Programs and Events

• Saturday, November 9th, 6-8:30pm —  Exhibit Opening: Comments at 6:30 p.m. by artist Wendell Minor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough
• Sunday, November 10th, 11am — Talk & Brunch: “The Art of Collaboration with Author David McCullough and Artist Wendell Minor”
• Saturday, November 23rd, 1-4pm —  Family Day: “All Aboard! Railroads and Trains“
• December 23rd through 28th, 1-4pm. (closed December 25th) — December School Vacation Week Workshops: “Page Turners: Exploring the Art of the Picture Book”
• Saturday, January 25th, 9am-4pm — Educators’ Symposium: “True Stories: Non-Fiction Children’s Books in the Classroom”

For a complete list of events, availability of space, ticket information, and to RSVP, visit www.nrm.org or call 413-931-2264. 9 Massachusetts 183. Stockbridge, MA.

The Museum is open year-round; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. From May through October, hours are 10am to 5pm daily; from November through April, hours are 10am to 4pm Monday through Friday, and 10am to 5pm on weekends and holidays. Admission is $16, $14.50 for seniors, $10 for students, $5 for kids, and teens 6 to 18, and free for Museum members, active military personnel, and children 5 and under.  Check your local library for museum pass lending availability.