Printing a Child's World

This installation features more than two dozen printed works from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that are either for or about children and were created by artists such as Randolph Caldecott (for whom the annual award for best children's illustration is named), George Bellows, Winslow Homer, Thomas Nast, and others. Because of their sensitivity to light, these works—primarily children's books, illustrations, and prints—are rarely displayed. In addition to works from The Met collection, there are a dozen loans from a private collection and the New-York Historical Society.

Among the highlights of the installation are nine original watercolors by Caldecott (1887) for the children's book The House That Jack Built; the familiar illustration of Santa Claus by Nast from A Visit from Saint Nicholas (1872); and one of Homer's earliest illustrations, which was made for Eventful History of Three Blind Mice (1858).

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website