Raúl Colón, Illustration for Bookjoy Wordjoy by Pat Mora (Lee & Low Books). Courtesy of R. Michelson Galleries. © 2018 Raúl Colón.
Created in Color: The Picture Book Art of Raúl Colón
Raúl Colón has built a celebrated career in children’s picture book illustration. His instantly recognizable style of textured watercolor-and-colored-pencil paintings appear in over 50 books. He creates stories inspired by his Puerto Rican heritage, like Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel, and biographies of Latin American heroes such as baseball legend Roberto Clemente, dancer José Limón, and novelist Gabriel García Márquez. In Child of the Civil Rights Movement and As Good as Anybody, Colon depicts the powerful work of activists who fought for justice in the 1960s. But he also makes books of poetry, books about creativity, and even books about books!
This exhibition is organized by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature.
What to expect
Visitors can cheerfully follow characters through more than 84 artworks, as they journey from the African savanna to a magical library, the North Pole, and a museum where art leaps off the walls.
Raúl Colón, Illustration for Child of the Universe by Ray Jayawardhana. Courtesy of the artist. © 2020 Raúl Colón.
Raúl Colón, Illustration for José! Born to Dance: The Story of José Limón by Susanna Reich. Courtesy of the artist. © 2005 Raúl Colón.
Raúl Colón, Illustration for A Weave of Words: An Armenian Tale by Robert D. San Souci. Courtesy of the artist. © 1998 Raúl Colón.
Raúl Colón, Illustration for Counting the Stars by Lesa Cline-Ransome. Courtesy of the artist. © 2019 Raúl Colón.
Raúl Colón, Illustration for Already a Butterfly: A Meditation Story by Julia Alvarez. Courtesy of the artist. © 2020 Raúl Colón.
Raúl Colón, Illustration for Child of the Civil Rights Movement by Paula Young Shelton. Courtesy of the artist and R. Michelson Galleries. © 2010 Raúl Colón.
Raúl Colón, Illustration for Play Ball! by Jorge Posada. Courtesy of the artist. © 2006 Raúl Colón.
Raúl Colón, Illustration for Imagine! Original in the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles. Image courtesy Paula Wiseman Books, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. © 2018 Raúl Colón.
Raúl Colón, Illustration for Imagine! Original in the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles. Image courtesy Paula Wiseman Books, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. © 2018 Raúl Colón.
