Gallery Exhibit: Imagine This: Children’s Book Illustrations

Wendell Minor, Snow Bear, 1999, watercolor, 9 ½ x 15 1/2 inches, Ruth E. Engle Memorial Collection, Murray Library, Messiah University.

Imagine This: Children’s Book Illustrations will run from Nov. 4–Dec. 18, 2022, at the Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery of Lebanon Valley College.

Drawn from the Ruth E. Engle Memorial Collection of Murray Library, Messiah University, these children’s book illustrations celebrate the art we first encountered as a pairing of story and image. The collection honors Ruth Engle’s “abiding love for children, books, and libraries.” Supplemented with works from the Lebanon Valley College Fine Art Collection, the exhibition introduces stories from across the globe and opens up a broad vista of cultures and places, both real and imagined. Illustrations of classic fairytales like Pinocchio and Peter Pan appear alongside the retelling of folktales from Japan (Tale of the Mandarin Ducks) and Cameroon (Sense Pass King). From an Arctic spring to a Christmas in Wales, one can traverse the history of the Silk Route or journey with Joan of Arc.

The opening reception for Imagine This: Children’s Book Illustrations will take place on Friday, Nov. 4, 5–7 p.m. in Zimmerman Recital Hall of the Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery. All events are free and open to the public.

Bookmaking Workshop | Nov. 16, 5–7:30 p.m. Zimmerman Recital Hall
Reading, Looking, Leafing: A Book Talk and Workshop
MC Hyland, poet, publisher, scholar, teacher, public artist, and LVC assistant professor of English

Artist Talk | Thursday, Dec. 1, 5 p.m., Zimmerman Recital Hall
Shadra Strickland, artist, illustrator, author, and professor, hosts this event.
Strickland is the author of several children’s books, including Bird (2008), in the Gallery exhibition.

Gallery hours are Wednesday, 5–8 p.m., Thursday and Friday, 1–4:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., and by appointment for groups. Please contact the Gallery at 717-867-6445 or gallery@lvc.edu to arrange a private Gallery talk for your school or organization.

Photo caption: Wendell Minor, Snow Bear, 1999, watercolor, 9 ½ x 15 1/2 inches, Ruth E. Engle Memorial Collection, Murray Library, Messiah University.

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