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The Arts Intel Report

Now & Then: Contemporary Illustrators and their Childhood Art

Dec 14, 2019 – May 10, 2020
125 W Bay Rd, Amherst, MA 01002, United States

The drawings of children are charming, savage, and often strikingly conceptual, qualities that are eventually trained away. But say the child grows up to become an artist who illustrates children’s books: how far has he or she moved from those childhood scribbles and visions? Or put another way, how does the early work—very early!—connect with the art of adulthood? Curated by Grace Lin (Caldecott honor this year for A Big Mooncake for Little Star) and Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Lunch Lady graphic novel series), the exhibition “Now & Then” offers some answers. —L.J.

The Fan Brothers, “Illustration for The Night Gardener” (Simon & Schuster). Collection of the artists © 2016 Terry Fan and Eric Fan.