Illustration on Show

There is a rich tradition of illustration in this country, but although – or maybe even because – it’s one of the most accessible, ubiquitous art forms, it often gets taken for granted and, consequently, undervalued. The proposed Quentin Blake Gallery of Illustration promises to be just what we’ve all been waiting for – a non-commercial gallery entirely devoted to the art of illustration that will offer a new perspective on the subject, stimulate interest and, hopefully, provide a vital forum for critical discussion. In the States, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art has set a precedent. Joanna Carey explains.

Besides being one of our finest illustrators, Quentin Blake, the former head of illustration at the Royal College of Art, has already curated a number of hugely successful exhibitions featuring a wide range of illustrators and his gallery will offer a continuous programme of exhibitions celebrating and exploring the art of illustration from every angle.

News of the proposed Quentin Blake Gallery has been enthusiastically received by the Centre for the Children’s Book which is nearing completion in Newcastle: they are already looking forward to finding opportunities for collaboration. Blake has been involved with the CCB since its inception. ‘I’m proud to be a patron of the CCB, and to be able to give it my practical support,’ he says. ‘Clearly there will be large areas of overlap between CCB and the QB Gallery, but we won’t be in competition, because there are significant differences in what we’re trying to do. Essentially the CCB exists to develop its archive of British manuscripts and original illustrations, and to promote the children’s book in ways that are largely child directed. The QB Gallery is entirely about illustration, contemporary, but also historical and international. Children’s book illustration will be an important element in it, but the exhibitions will not be designed exclusively for children. I’m keen to look at children’s book illustration as part of a broader view of illustration. It was something I was pleased to have the opportunity of talking about as Children’s Laureate. There’s a value in seeing it in a historical context, because the roots of children’s book illustration aren’t solely in earlier children’s books, but in illustration in general.’

More than exhibition space

Plans for the gallery have been drawn up in fine detail. There will be generous exhibition space, showing work by established illustrators, new young illustrators, illustrators from other countries and illustrators from the past; a comprehensive education programme is being developed – centred on the collections, it will include guided tours, lectures and workshops for all ages. There will be a library, with books relating to the illustrations on show, and there will be exhibitions of rarely seen works from the great museums – the V&A and the British Museum have already promised their co-operation. And, central to the whole project, Blake has pledged to donate his entire archive of over 4,000 of his own original artworks (valued by Christies at over £2 million) to the gallery.

So: the big question is whereabouts in London is it to be? ‘A number of extremely interesting sites have been, or are, under discussion,’ says Blake, ‘the most significant being Somerset House. Tantalizingly, though, everything now waits on a feasibility study for the South Wing, and that won’t be completed until the end of this year.’ Plans continue in the meantime: fund raising is under way and the first QB Gallery travelling exhibition (about travelling) is currently being prepared under the title In All Directions.

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Meanwhile in America, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, in Amherst MA, is showing the impact a gallery of this sort can have – this very beautiful, purpose built, airy museum was officially opened last November and has astonished and delighted its founders by having received more than twice as many visitors (from all over the world) as they had ever dared to expect.

Eric Carle (the creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar) and his wife Bobbie were inspired to start the museum following a trip to Japan. ‘There were 20 such museums there,’ says Bobbie Carle, ‘and none in the US – we thought a museum of picture book art would be a perfect way to celebrate the fact that picture books not only offer that first vital encounter with art, but also foster valuable connections with verbal and visual literacy.’

So far they have mounted eight exhibitions of major picture book artists. There are three spacious galleries, one of them devoted to Carle’s work – he has donated all his original artwork to the museum. The director, art historian Nick Clark, aims to make the museum accessible at all levels of understanding, and to banish the anxiety many people feel on entering a gallery. There are no labels telling you how to look, or what to think, but there are questions that ask about your own reactions to the pictures. ‘Children’s observations are as relevant as adults’,’ says Clark. The pictures are all hung at a child friendly height, and, at the opening night of the Maurice Sendak exhibition Sendak, not a tall man, remarked that it was a Sendak-friendly height too. He was delighted by the fact that amongst his own illustrations there were works by a range of artists who have influenced him over the years and it was both unusual and enlightening to see etchings, engravings and watercolours by Albrecht Durer, William Blake, Samuel Palmer and Winslow Homer alongside illustrations for Where the Wild Things Are, Higglety Pigglety Pop!, and Mr Rabbit and the Lovely Present. It was equally illuminating to see how Carle’s collages chime with works by Matisse and Leger.

Now that the museum is up and running, Carle has been able to step back and concentrate on his books. ‘The museum has taken on a life of its own,’ he says. ‘It’s being enjoyed by so many different types of people – school parties, young parents, students, artists and academics. And there are so many different areas of the museum – each has something important to offer – there are the galleries, where you look and contemplate, the studio/workshop which offers hands on activity, the library where you can read and relax, the auditorium for lectures – and puppet shows – and the café… There’s such a wide variety of participation I believe almost every visitor will leave here enriched in one way or another – even the very youngest’ and he describes with amusement a little girl he saw beetling around from one picture to another, clapping her hands for each one. ‘When she reached the Very Hungry caterpillar she stopped, spread her arms and said “Oh! My friend”!’

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is in Amherst MA
www.picturebookart.org . Currently the museum is showing the work of Leo Lionni.

Enquiries about the Quentin Blake Gallery of Illustration: claudia.zeff@jbcp.co.uk

The Centre for the Children’s Book, 18 Quay Level, St Peter’s Marina, Newcastle (info@childrensbook.org.uk ).

Joanna Carey is a writer and illustrator.