Wendell Minor, “W is for Washington,” 2006. Illustration for “Yankee Doodle America” by Wendell Minor, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, The Penguin Group. Acrylic on panel. Collection of the artist. ©Wendell Minor. All rights reserved.

Award-winning illustrator Wendell Minor drew his way through childhood in Aurora, Illinois, inspired by America’s heartland and the richly illustrated magazines that were so much a part of life at the time―from nature-themed favorites like Outdoor Life and Field & Stream to the vastly popular Saturday Evening Post. Determined to forge a career as an artist, he sold his beloved 1955 Chevy to pursue his studies at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Florida, and moved to New York in 1968, with little more than his portfolio in hand. Since then, his striking visual narratives and elegant designs have appeared on nearly two thousand book covers and more than fifty children’s books, nuanced reflections on who we are, where we have been, and what we aspire to become.

Wendell Minor’s America celebrates the artist’s four-decade career, highlighting his twenty-fifth anniversary as a preeminent illustrator of children’s books, each inspired by his love of history, art, science, and the natural world. More than 150 artworks gleaned from his expansive visual chronicles, and commentary reflecting on his collaborations with our nation’s most prominent authors, scientists, and historians, showcase a quarter-century of unforgettable picture book art. Original artworks, artifacts, and references for 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, and Arctic Son by Jean Craighead George, among others, will be on view. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue featuring essays by many of the noted authors and editors whom Minor has partnered with.

For the Wendell Minor’s America press release, click here…

Learn about Norman Rockwell’s influence on Wendell Minor: click here…

Shop for Wendell Minor books

Wendell Minor, “Heartland (Red Barn Flag),” 1989. Cover illustration for “Heartland” by Diane Siebert, Thomas Y. Crowell, New York. ©Wendell Minor. All rights reserved.

Artist’s Website: www.minor.art.com