Wendell Minor, “First Flights,” 2009. Illustration for “Look to the Stars” by Buzz Aldrin, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, The Penguin Group. Watercolor and gouache on paper. New Britain Museum of American Art. ©Wendell Minor. All rights reserved.
Stockbridge, MA, January 9, 2014—In conjunction with its latest exhibitions, Norman Rockwell Museum will present the educators’ symposium, “True Stories: Non-Fiction Children’s Books in the Classroom,” on Saturday, January 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The symposium will explore the world of non-fiction picture books and the wide range of Common Core-ready resources that are available to help educators lay a solid foundation for their students, across grade levels and disciplines. Featured speakers will include illustrator Wendell Minor, his wife/author Florence Minor, illustrator David Macaulay, and picture book historian/author Leonard Marcus, who will all offer curriculum connections to non-fiction children’s literature; tours of the exhibition, “Wendell Minor’s America “and a special book signing are included, and an optional lunch for $7 will also be provided (snacks free). Cost to attend the symposium is $30, $24 for Museum members, with PDPs available. Bus funding support is available (with priority given to regional Title 1 Schools) and sponsored by High Meadow Foundation and Berkshire County Sheriffs’ Association. For more information and to pre-register call 413.931.2252, or email rsvp@nrm.org.
Wendell Minor’s America
On view through May 26, 2014
Celebrate the four-decade career of award-winning illustrator Wendell Minor, one of our nation’s premier historical illustrators. Minor 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; today he travels throughout the United States to research, draw and paint on location, and immerse himself in the subject at hand. This retrospective looks at the many cover illustrations Minor has created over the years, as well as his 25th anniversary illustrating children’s books, each inspired by his love of history, art, science, and the natural world.
Wendell Minor’s America traces the personal and artistic journey of the acclaimed book illustrator and admirer of Norman Rockwell, through original artwork, artifacts, and references from Minor’s expansive visual chronicles, as well as commentary about his collaborations with our nation’s most prominent authors, scientists, and historians; highlights include original work from such books as “Reaching for the Moon” and “Look to the Stars” by Buzz Aldrin; “Sitting Bull Remembers” by Ann Turner; “Abraham Lincoln Comes Home” by Robert Burleigh; “Arctic Son” by Jean Craighead George; “Shane” by Jack Schafer; and “America the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates.