Jerry Pinkney in Studio

Last week curator Joyce K. Schiller and I had the pleasure of visiting with illustrator Jerry Pinkney, a gifted narrative artist who is truly a legend in the field. We are honored to be working with him on Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney, an exhibition that will preview at the Norman Rockwell Museum in November 2010, celebrating an extraordinary artistic journey that has continued for fifty years.

Jerry’s powerful imagery for picturebooks and historical commissions surrounded us in his light-filled studio, and we began imagining how this exciting exhibition might take shape in the Museum’s galleries. His luminous watercolor paintings communicate compelling personal perspectives on life’s small moments and important cultural themes, conveying the richness of the African American experience, the transformative power of classic literature, and the meaning of visual storytelling in our lives. Jerry looks almost as happy as we are in this picture. Stay tuned for more updates on this project with an artist who “chose legacy” by “becoming the voice that others may not have had.”

Visit Jerry at his studio website.