David Wiesner & The Art of Wordless Storytelling is the first comprehensive retrospective devoted to this internationally recognized master of the picture book. The exhibition includes nearly 70 original watercolors handmade by David Wiesner (b. 1956) for nine of his most famous books, including three for which he won the prestigious Caldecott Medal: Tuesday (1992), The Three Pigs (2002), and Flotsam (2007).

David Wiesner, Mr. Wuffles!, pg. 8, 2013. Watercolor and india ink on paper. Courtesy of the artist.

David Wiesner, Fish Girl, pg. 168-169, 2016. Watercolor and ink line on paper. Courtesy of the artist.
 

David Wiesner, Art & Max, pg. 25, 2010. Watercolor, acrylic and poster paint on paper. Courtesy of the artist.

David Wiesner, Flotsam, pg. 19, 2006. Watercolor on paper. Courtesy of the artist.

David Wiesner, Tuesday, pg. 10-11, 1991. Watercolor on paper. Courtesy of the artist.

This is the first exhibition that seeks to contextualize the work of a noted, so-called “children’s book illustrator” in the greater art-historical context of not just the contemporary visual culture of comic books and major motion pictures, but also the more somber realm of social critique, practiced so effectively in the 19th century by the likes of Honoré Daumier and continued with gusto by his avant-garde followers between the World Wars. In the case of David Wiesner, many strands of influence are apparent in his now revered approach to wordless storytelling. As explored in the accompanying catalogue, one easily detects the artist’s early attraction to surrealist masters of the 20th century (Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, and René Magritte), combined with an abiding fascination with the story-telling techniques of such American pioneers of the illustrated picture book as Lynd Ward (1905–1985), and the indelible impressions made by Ward’s earlier European counterparts, Otto Nückel (1888–1955) or Franz Masereel (1889–1972).

The charm of these wordless narratives is apparent; but the actual process by which Wiesner achieves this seemingly effortless effect of visual wit is not often fully apprehended, especially if limited to the reproductions of the illustrated books. Viewing the original works reveals the multiple layers of watercolor that he uses to create the opaque, exquisitely nuanced hues that bring each piece to life.

David Wiesner & The Art of Wordless Storytelling
January 29, 2017 – May 14, 2017
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara, California

June 18, 2017 – November 5, 2017
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Amherst, Massachusetts

FRAMING SPECIFICATIONS AND ADVICE

METRO GALLERY FRAME

Thin Profile: 114
Type: Thin Gallery Frame
Wood and Finish: maple wood frame with pickled white finish
Purchasing Option: joined wood frame
Framing Advice: fitting gallery frames

Virginia Beahan’s photographs tell a story that is at once demanding, joyous, surprising, and painful. In the fall of 2002, Beahan and her husband helped her 88-year-old mother, Jeanne Cadwallader, sell her house in Yardley, Pennsylvania, and moved her to their home in rural New Hampshire. In failing health, her mother’s doctors believed she would die within the coming months. She soon recovered, however, and for the first time in many decades, Beahan and her mother began to spend their days together, learning to accommodate each other’s needs and lives. Suffering from the early stages of dementia, losing her memory and her ability to process information, her mother could never be left alone. Accustomed to a busy schedule of teaching, traveling, and making photographs in places as far removed as Iceland, Cuba, Sri Lanka, and the Aeolian Islands, Beahan felt trapped by these unexpected circumstances. Turning to her camera to bring structure and familiarity to a new routine, Beahan created a remarkable document of her family as it navigated what might otherwise be heartbreaking circumstances.

Virginia Beahan (American, born 1946), Celebrating My Mother’s 90^th Birthday, Lyme, NH, 2003, chromogenic development print, 20 x 24 inches, Courtesy of the artist

Beginning with portraits of her mother and daughter, Christina, Beahan soon expanded her subjects to include her husband, brother, cousins, and family friends — the people who surrounded and enriched her mother’s life. Beahan’s photographs face a difficult situation with directness and compassion, without flinching from her mother’s condition or succumbing to sentimentality. They reveal a painful transition that every family faces, yet one that is rarely shared with the outside world. Beahan captured the end of her mother’s life with openness and generosity, and a belief in the fundamental strength that binds together those we love and hold dear.

Virginia Beahan (American, born 1946), My Mother in Black, Lyme, NH, 2006, chromogenic development print, 20 x 24 inches, Courtesy of the artist

Virginia Beahan (American, born 1946), Christina and Gram on Thanksgiving, Lyme, NH, 2004, chromogenic development print, 20 x 24 inches, Courtesy of the artist

Virginia Beahan (American, born 1946), First Day of Spring, Lyme, NH, 2005, chromogenic development print, 20 x 24 inches, Courtesy of the artist

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Virginia Beahan (American, born Philadelphia, 1946) received a BA in English from Pennsylvania State University and an MFA in Photography from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University. She is Senior Lecturer in Studio Art at Dartmouth College, and has taught photography at Harvard University, Massachusetts College of Art, Wellesley College, and the Rhode Island School of Design. Beahan’s work is included in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Smithsonian American Art Museum; and Whitney Museum of American Art. Her publications include Cuba: Singing with Bright Tears (2009) and No Ordinary Land: Virginia Beahan and Laura McPhee (1998). In 1993, she received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in Photography. Beahan lives with her husband Michael in Lyme Center, New Hampshire.

Virginia Beahan

A Riley Contemporary Artists Project Gallery Exhibition

February 11, 2017 – May 7, 2017

Joslyn Art Museum  Omaha, Nebraska

FRAMING SPECIFICATIONS AND ADVICE

GALLERY FRAMES

Standard Profile: 101 and 106
Type: Standard Gallery Frame
Wood & Finish:  maple wood frame with pickled white finish
Purchasing Option: joined wood frame
Custom frame strainer: 3/4″ wood frame strainer
Custom frame acrylic: 1/8″ regular acrylic cut to size
Custom frame backing board: 1/4″ archival coroplast cut to size
Framing Advice: fitting gallery frames