Waterford Today

Award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Ashley Bryan.

Oakland University’s School of Education and Human Services is lending a portion of its extensive children’s literature art collection to the Farnsworth Art Museum in Maine as part of a new exhibition featuring works of award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Ashley Bryan, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 98.

In addition to being an honorary degree recipient and guest lecturer at Oakland University, Bryan was also emeritus professor of art and design at Dartmouth College, and a distinguished author whose stories, poems, illustrations, and interpretive readings inspired children throughout the world to love music, art, and language. He is also credited with enhancing the African-American experience and adding new dimensions to American culture.

“He was quite amazing,” said Dr. Linda Pavonetti, distinguished professor emerita and co-curator of the children’s literature art collection at OU.

The exhibition, Ashley Bryan: Beauty in Return, runs May 28 – December 31 at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Maine and will recognize Bryan’s significant and lasting contributions to Maine and American art by bringing together examples of the artist’s work from throughout his long career, including paintings, illustrations, puppets and stained glass.

Throughout the years, Bryan’s work garnered many honors, including the Arbuthnot Lectureship from the American Library Association, the Hopkins Poetry award from the University of Pennsylvania, a Newbery honors and numerous Coretta Scott King Awards, including the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was also named a New York City Public Library Literary Lion in 2008.

In his readings and other public appearances, Bryan strove to unify audience members from across the world and to encourage all individuals to love of who they are. He was known to treat all of his guests as family, as well as to impress and impress and inspire everyone he met.

“He was the type of person who I felt represented everything that could be good about humanity,” said Dr. Jim Cipielewski, professor emeritus and co-curator of the children’s literature art collection at OU. “He was someone who radiated peacefulness, humanity, and a love of people, stories, and art.”

When not on loan to the Farnsworth Art Museum, some of Bryan’s works, which were donated to the university, can be found on the third floor of Pawley Hall.

Original source can be found here.