A Museum Grows in Amherst

You won't find the flashing lights and sound effects commonly found in children's museums when you visit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. "We're trying to reach a much broader audience," says the museum's director, H. Nicholas Clark. "We're throwing down the gauntlet with this approach, inviting a different kind of interaction to occur."

Beyond raising the profile of picture book illustration, the people behind this ambitious project want it to be a pleasurable and enriching experience for visitors young and old. "Our hope is that this museum will be a celebration of creativity, a place for learning and enjoyment, and a salute to picture book art from around the world," says museum founder Eric Carle.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of children's books will feel right at home at the new Amherst, MA-based museum, which opened its doors on November 22, 2002. Even those unfamiliar with Carle's name will likely recognize his vibrant collages, particularly his images from The Very Hungry Caterpil lar, which has sold 17 million copies and been translated into 30 languages. The 40,000- square-foot museum, which sits in an apple orchard on 7.5 acres donated by Hampshire College, houses 1,200 of Carle's original collages and hundreds of preliminary sketches, book dummies, and manuscripts, all of which will be presented in an ongoing series of thematic exhibits. Fund-raisers have accumulated $11.5 million of the $22 million needed to finish construction and endow additional programs.

In the opening show, which runs through April 23, five dozen works from 15 of Carle's books offer a mini retrospective of his career. "Maurice Sendak: Inside and Out," which closes January 12, showcases more than 40 original works. Interior scenes and landscapes from Where the Wild Things Are ,Little Bear, and In the Night Kitchen appear alongside works by artists Albrecht Dürer, Winslow Homer, and William Blake. "We start with the familiar and then take viewers a step further," says Clark, who curated the exhibit. A third show, on display until February 23, features Robert Ingpen's illustrations for Halloween Circus at the Graveyard Lawn, which the Australian children's book artist plans to donate to the museum's permanent collection. For a schedule of upcoming events, visit the museum's Web site (www.picturebookart.org).

Everything about the museum is inviting, and the heated floors are conducive to hunkering down and getting comfortable. Visitors will also find plenty of benches and a generous sampling of actual books to peruse. All three galleries are kept in low light to protect the artwork, but the dimness also tones down the bustle of the entrance. The artwork, hung lower than standard museum height to accommodate small viewers, can be appreciated on the walls, but viewers can also pick up corresponding books to view the images from a different perspective. But don't expect to see signs helping visitors to understand the art—instead, they're prompted to interpret illustrations on their own.

Children's book historian Leonard S. Marcus, who serves on the museum's board of trustees, says, "The museum gives us a chance to see the original art made for picture books and to think about it in the larger context of art making and art history."