Artwork #6: His Repentance

Artist: Alfred Crowquill
Title: His Repentance
Media: Book illustration
Dimensions: 13.97 x 17.78 cm
Date: 1853

About the artist: Alfred Henry Forrester, known under the pseudonym Alfred Crowquill, was born on September 10, 1804 and died May 26, 1872. He lived in London and wrote for periodical publications such as Punch magazine as well as short tales, songs, children’s stories and burlesques. He could also draw and illustrated stories every now and then.

About the art: His Repentance is an illustration in the book, The Careless Chicken by Krakemsides. The story is of a little chick who disobediently leaves his mother and is deceived by the fox who intends to fatten him up for eating. The chick follows the fox and soon becomes wary of his questionable lifestyle, though believes his lies all the same until he sees the fox carrying the chick’s father into his cave. The chick saves his father but then is in danger himself when the dog comes in and kills the fox.

What people have to say about it: “My Dear Little Chickens: Let the following story be a warning to you not to believe in your own cleverness, and not to listen to the advice of those who wish you to act contrary to the will, or without the knowledge, of your parents, for all such have their own selfish motives in prompting you to disobedience. Your loving friend, KRAKEMSIDES.” -Krakemsides

Why it was chosen: The Careless Chicken is a children’s tale teaching kids to obey their mothers and not wander off with strangers. His Repentance is the final scene of the story where the chicken apologizes to his mother. Children will enjoy learning from this chick’s mistakes.

Artwork #7: Treasure Island Book Alteration

Artist: Jodi Harvey-Brown
Title: Treasure Island Book Alteration
Media: Paper sculpture
Dimensions: 27.94 x 38.1 cm
Date: 2012

About the artist: Jodi Harvey-Brown lives in Delta, Pennsylvania where she works as a dance instructor and mother and creates pop-up books in her spare time. She studied art at Seton Hill University. She started making her unique art when she came across some old books she couldn't resist and began folding the pages.

About the art: Treasure Island is a story by Robert Louise Stevenson published in 1883 about an island full of treasure, a young boy with a map to it, a doctor friend, a pirate seeking the treasure, and a crew of others. Jodi Harvey-Brown carefully brought these characters to life by working late hours around her tight schedule.

What people have to say about it: “I have always loved art, and I have always loved to read.  Books pull you into a new world, while art lets you see it.  It made sense to me that these two mediums should come together.  The books that we love to read should be made to come to life.  Characters, that we care so much for, should come out of the pages to show us their stories.  What we see in our imaginations as we read should be there for the world to see.  My book sculptures are my way of making stories come alive.” - Jodi Harvey-Brown

Why is was chosen: Children will be excited about this art which takes on the style of a child’s favorite form of story: the pop-up book.

Artwork #8: Desert Bloom

Artist: Autumn de Forest
Title: Desert Bloom
Media: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 121.92 x 121.92 cm
Date: May 8, 2015

About the artist: Autumn de Forest is a 13 year old artist whose artwork sells for tens of thousands of dollars. Her talent comes from her inheritance, as there have been many artists in her family. She uses the money she earns to support charities and the like and her way with speech has earned the attention of many people.

About the art: In going to a meeting with a group of her collectors in Scottsdale, AZ, Autumn de Forest wanted to make a special piece. So she created Desert Bloom.

What people have to say about it: “I love Georgia O’Keeffe, of course, but I also love Andy Warhol’s ‘Poppy’ series. I see this piece as a combination of those two inspirations.” - Autumn de Forest.

Why it was chosen: Autumn de Forest has been doing art since she was 5 year old. The fact that she can work so hard and do so well at such a young age is an inspiration for all young artists. Little children are often more awed by the art of someone their own age than by the art of a grown-up.

Artwork #9: Alice in Wonderland

Artist: Jose de Creeft
Title: Alice in Wonderland
Media: Bronze sculpture
Dimensions: 365.76 x 487.68 cm
Date: 1956

About the artist: Jose de Creeft was born November 27, 1884 in Spain. At age four his family moved to Barcelona. In 1900, he moved to Madrid and studied under Don Augustin Querol Subirats, Rafael Hidalgo, Gutierrez de Caviedes and Ignacio Zuloaga. In Paris, he studied at Academie Julien for two years. He married an American, Alice Robertson Carr, in 1929 and moved to New York City. He died on September 11, 1982.

About the art: In 1956, George T. Delacorte wanted a memorial for his wife, Margarita, so he commissioned Jose de Creeft to create the bronze sculpture based on Alice in Wonderland.


What people have to say about it: "I don't know. It's a good story. It just seemed a nice thing to have in the park. On Sunday mornings I watch the kids climbing over it, under it. It's a regular parade." - George T. Delacorte.

Why it was chosen: The statue was created to be climbed on by children. The Parks Department keeps a mold in order to replace the statue whenever it becomes too worn by the children climbing over it. What more needs to be said?

Artwork #10: Balloon Dog (Blue)

Artist: Jeff Koons
Title: Balloon Dog (Blue)
Media: Mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating
Dimensions: 307.34 x 363.22 x 114.3 cm
Date: 1994-2000

About the artist: Jeff Koons was born in 1955 in York, Pennsylvania. He studied at the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He currently lives in New York City where he continues to create his fun filled art sculptures.

About the art: The Balloon Dog is a part of the Celebration series which was made to honor the hoped-for return of Ludwig from Rome. There are five colors of this piece: Blue, Magenta, Orange, Red, and Yellow. The Orange Balloon Dog sold for a record price of $58.4 million for a living artist.


What people have to say about it: “At a time when collectors are propelling rare master works to new price levels at auction, the sale of Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog will be a spectacular event for buyers around the world. This is a definitive icon of the 20th century. The Balloon Dog is the Holy Grail for collectors and foundations. In private hands, the work has always communicated the prominence and stature of its owner. Like Andy Warhol’s portrait of Marilyn, which influenced Koons’ choice of the orange metallic color for Balloon Dog, it is the ultimate masterpiece, instantly recognizable to the art world and public alike. To own this work immediately positions the buyer alongside the very top collectors in the world and transforms a collection to an unparalleled level of greatness.” -Brett Gorvy

Why it was chosen: Any child who sees this is going to pull on their mother’s sleeve and say, “Mommy, Mommy, look over there!” Next minute, the mother will have to hang on tight to keep her child from trying to climb the giant Balloon Dog.

Conclusion

Organizing artwork is a difficult process which requires much patience and much more understanding of artwork than I have. Trying to research the different works of art to match the theme as well as the information on them is challenging, especially the further back in time the art is from, but once that perfect piece of art has been found, deciding how to organize it and how to apply it to the theme is very fun. I've learned to appreciate the hard work of a curator, but I wouldn't want to be one.... Though it is fun to learn about one of the first children’s books created and children artists who rank alongside some of the greatest artists out there and about everyone’s creativity and imagination.