Exhibition, Book Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Keats's 'The Snowy Day'
RSSBy SLJ Staff
Calling all Ezra Jack Keats fans—the first major U.S. exhibition to pay tribute to the award-winning author and illustrator opens at the Jewish Museum in New York on September 9. "The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats" features more than 80 original works from preliminary sketches and dummy books to final paintings and collages for the artist's most beloved children's books, including Whistle for Willie (1964), Peter's Chair (1967), and The Snowy Day (1962). Visitors will also see examples of Keats's lesser-known works inspired by Asian art and poetry, as well as documentary material and photographs. The exhibition, which remains on view through January 29, 2012, is part of a wide-scale celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Snowy Day (Viking), complete with eight pages of bonus material, including photographs that inspired the character of Peter and letters from fans like Langston Hughes. An illustrated book for adults, The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats, is being co-published in October by the Jewish Museum and Yale University Press to complement the exhibit. The 104-page hardcover book includes 80 color and three black-and-white illustrations; essays by Claudia Nahson, curator at the Jewish Museum, and art critic Maurice Berger; and an illustrated timeline by Emily Casden and Nahson. It will be available worldwide and at the Jewish Museum's Cooper Shop for $27.50. Keats was born Jacob (Jack) Ezra Katz in Brooklyn, NY, in 1916 to poor Eastern European Jewish immigrants. After serving in World War II, he briefly studied painting in Paris on the GI Bill, but he was primarily self-taught, drawing upon memories of growing up in one of the most deprived neighborhoods of New York City—East New York. Keats's experience with anti-Semitism and poverty gave him a lifelong sympathy for others who were poor and suffered prejudice. Using lush color and collages in his paintings, Keats strove for simplicity in his texts and was often more interested in capturing a mood than developing a plot. His preferred format was the horizontal double-page spread, which freed him to alternate close-up scenes with panoramic views. By the end of his life in 1983, he had illustrated more than 80 books, most of them for children, 22 of which he also authored. Following its New York City showing, the exhibition will travel to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA (June 26-October 14, 2012); the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, CA (November 15, 2012-February 24, 2013); and the Akron Art Museum in Ohio (March-June 2013). The exhibition was organized by Nahson and the installation design was created by Barbara Suhr. Kris Stone designed the reading room and a theatrical backdrop. This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe.
Published at the height of the civil rights movement and winner of the Caldecott Medal, The Snowy Day featured the first African-American protagonist in a full-color picture book and paved the way for multiracial representation in American children's literature.
