The Art of Jan Brett

Jan Brett’s global perspective has been inspired by her appreciation for world cultures and her many travel experiences, which have taken her from Arctic Sweden to Namibia, and from Costa Rica to China. The rich traditions and cultures of the countries she visits serve as a starting point for her stories, and the artist’s home is filled with objects and artifacts that she has collected along the way—including a selection that will be shared publicly in this special exhibition.

Brett’s acquisitions have inspired fond memories and are the impetus for the many books that she has written and illustrated throughout her prolific three decade career. Her art invites readers to linger over intricately detailed images filled with expressive characters, natural and seasonal wonders, architectural elements, and uniquely ornate pictorial borders, inspiring engagement, discovery, and a love of reading in children, who are drawn to her warm narratives. Decorative elements of an antique pitcher from Germany appear on a ceramic bowl in her illustrations, and springerle molds from Germany and Switzerland are replicated on endpapers and borders in her joyful Gingerbread books. Freshly shed moose antlers found in the wild in North Sweden appear as an impromptu toboggan in Home for Christmas, reflecting the artist’s interest in repurposing unexpected elements with creativity and imagination.

When Brett was in Botswana, a guide told her of a bird called the honeyguide which uses its call to lure humans to bee’s nests—once humans open the nests, the bird is able to access the wax comb. The honeyguide and the folklore surrounding it inspired the artist’s popular Honey . . . Honey . . . Lion! which is featured in the exhibition. On a bird-watching trip to Namibia, Brett came across the rock hyrax, small rodents known colloquially as dassie that became the stars of The 3 Little Dassies. A set of dolls and samples of cloth from the villages she visited in Namibia inspired the colors and patterns for page borders as well as the traditional clothing in which she dressed her characters.

One of Brett’s favorite books, Berlioz the Bear, was set at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home in Stockbridge, MA, where the Norman Rockwell Museum is also located, and the book’s setting drew upon an orchestra tour to Germany and Austria. Berlioz is based upon her husband, musician Joe Hearne, and other characters were inspired by his fellow orchestra members. Additional details were drawn from further travels and Brett’s many visits to museums, which allowed her to seek out and photograph particular decorative elements for her art. In one museum, she recalls discovering the perfect wagon to replicate in her book. Determined to capture as much detail as possible, she photographed the wagon from every perspective, including a birds-eye view from atop her husband’s shoulders. When Brett returned home, she had a scale replica of the blue wagon specially constructed to ensure authenticity in her art. Despite Brett’s love of travel, some of her books are set closer to home. Mossy unfolds by a turtle pond in Hingham, MA, and The Easter Egg is set in her hometown of Norwell. Others are set in “Jan Land,” the colorful made-up world that exists only in the artist’s vivid imagination.

An avid storyteller, Brett enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for the things around her. “The world is so incredibly magnificent,” she has said. “I feel like [I’m discovering] just the tip of the iceberg.” “I used to feel that I could just disappear into a book. So when a child opens [one of my books], I want them to feel like they could just walk right into the forest and know what it feels like and smells like….It’s about making a fantasy place a real place. . . . that’s the key to storytelling.”

Here are three scavenger hunts you can try when you visit the exhibition at the Museum.  Access them on your mobile device or just grab a printed copy at the Museum!  Fun for the whole family!

Jan Brett’s Favorite Animals
Scavenger Hunt

Arctic Adventures with Jan Brett
Scavenger Hunt

Jan Brett’s Beautiful Borders
Scavenger Hunt