Channel Frederator Blog

This Thursday (August 28th) is the last day to see the exhibit “Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 Years of Golden Books” at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. I was there last weekend I can confirm that there were adults attending sans kids. (Much of the artwork is hung close to the ground, so be prepared to get down on your knees to take in the details.)

As you may know, Golden Books illustrators included many Disney artists such as Gustav Tenggren and Mary Blair. I was particularly thrilled to see two original pieces by Mary Blair from I Can Fly.

(My one gripe is that the medium of the pieces is not indicated, and although advertised as a collection of “original art”, there seem to be some digital prints in the mix.)

Amazing fact: There have been two BILLION copies of Golden Books printed to date!

If you can’t make it speedily to the West Side, the exhibit (which originated at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature in Abilene, Texas) will be touring in the future: The Eric Carle Museum and the Chicago Public Library are on the agenda.

A highly recommended related read is Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children’s Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and Became An American Icon Along The Way (deep breath!), pictured above. Listen to a podcast interview with author Leonard Marcus here.

—Anne D. Bernstein

Additional info: I just received an email from Leonard Marcus stating that the show will next be seen at the Aurora Public Art Commission Gallery in Aurora, Illinois, opening in early September. It will keep traveling at least through 2012. Also, he explained that the original Tenngren art that he wanted to include could not travel, so that’s why he ended up including digital prints.