| The Rutgers Collection of Original Illustrations for
Children's Literature at the Zimmerli Art Museum:
The Rutgers Collection of Original Illustrations for Children's
Literature was established at the Zimmerli Art Museum in 1979,
with the support of the Rutgers Advisory Council for Children's
Books and an initial grant from the New Jersey State Council
for the Arts.
The holdings of the Rutgers Collection span more than seventy
years of American children's book illustration and have grown
to include over four thousand works by more than one hundred
artists. Works in the collection date from the late 1920s
to the present. Representation of individual artists in the
collection varies greatly, from as little as one illustration
to hundreds of objects. Many artists are represented by at
least one book with preparatory materials, or by representative
samplings from several works.
The mission of the Rutgers Collection is to collect, preserve,
study, and make accessible examples of an art form that is
often a child's first introduction to the fine arts. Research,
exhibitions, and activities related to the collection reflect
the belief that examining the artist's process enhances understanding
and deepens appreciation of a finished book, and of illustrated
materials in general. In order to fulfill its mission, the
Rutgers Collection acquires materials that reveal the process
of creating an illustrated book for children, from notes,
sketches and manuscripts to full-color illustrations and finished
books.
The Zimmerli Art Museum offers an ongoing program of exhibitions
from the Rutgers Collection in a specially designated gallery,
and an outreach program entitled Creating a Children's Book,
based on materials from the collection designed for regional
schools. The collection is available for scholarly study by
appointment at the Morse Research Center for Graphic Arts
and through university classes and lectures. Manuscripts associated
with the Rutgers Collection are maintained by the Special
Collections Department of the Archibald Alexander Library,
also on the Rutgers College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick,
and are available for study by appointment.
Information about the Rutgers Collection is not yet available
electronically. Please write, call, or e-mail questions to:
Gail Aaron, Assistant Curator
The Rutgers Collection of Original Illustrations for Children's
Literature
The Zimmerli Art Museum
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
71 Hamilton Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1248
(732) 932-7237 Extension 637
theaaron@rci.rutgers.edu |
