The Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children
We’re all striving and we’re all heroic. To me it’s heroic that we get out of bed in the morning.Maira Kalman
The Pursuit of Everything presents a colorful panorama of Maira Kalman’s picture-book career. Perhaps best known for her quirky New Yorker covers and as a pioneering visual journalist for The New York Times, Kalman has also published 18 acclaimed children’s books. She illustrates the comic adventures of Max Stravinsky, the dog-poet in Max Makes a Million (1990), and the escapades of a gluttonous canine named Pete in What Pete Ate from A-Z (“Really!”) (2001). The exhibition features Kalman’s kaleidoscopic paintings from Next Stop Grand Central (1999) alongside illustrations from her recent publications Beloved Dog (2015) and Cake (2018). Kalman addresses important historical figures and events in Looking at Lincoln (2012), Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote (2018), and the 9/11-inspired Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey (2002). Balancing the ridiculous and the profound, Kalman’s beautifully crafted paintings and witty word play delight audiences of all ages
Curated by Jane Bayard Curley.
This exhibition is made possible with generous support from Penguin Young Readers and Random House Children’s Books.
What to Expect
This exhibition shares original art and memorabilia, including two short films. Copies of Kalman’s books are available with benches for easy reading. Visitors of all ages can make their own Kalman-inspired art at a table full of supplies.
It’s half a yawn past dawn, and this short-order cook is already hard at work. Look who’s just come in for a bite to eat. Can you spot Mr. Pool in his soda-can suit?
In the fall of 1997, Kalman was commissioned to design a series of murals to cover the scaffolding during a major renovation of Grand Central Terminal in New York City. A reproduction of one of the murals is on view to the left. Kalman’s paintings grew into the book Next Stop, Grand Central.
Kalman’s second blog, And the Pursuit of Happiness, appeared over the course of President Barack Obama’s first year in office, beginning in 2008. It opens with a visit to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, where we meet this charming museum guard. Kalman takes her title from the Declaration of Independence. Part travel log, part illustrated memoir, And the Pursuit of Happiness is a stroll through American history and a consideration of the country’s founding fathers.
Kalman’s love of family and play is evident in the delightful image of the Lincoln family at the dinner table. It looks like they are getting ready for dessert. Can you find the two cakes?
