Animals Are Us: Anthropomorphism in Children’s Literature; Celebrating the Peter J. Solomon Collection
Why do we tell stories to children through and about animals? Are there reasons why we shouldn’t? Animals Are Us invites explores these questions and more through influential historic examples of anthropomorphism in dialogue with contemporary books drawn from the collection of Peter J. Solomon (Harvard College Class of 1960, MBA 1963) and the holdings of Houghton Library. The exhibition invites you to engage critically with animal anthropomorphism, and delight in the artfulness of this enduring literary genre. Catalog of an exhibition on view at Houghton Library, Harvard University, September 1, 2021 - January 7, 2022.
Why do we tell stories to children through and about animals? Are there reasons why we shouldn’t? Animals Are Us invites explores these questions and more through influential historic examples of anthropomorphism in dialogue with contemporary books drawn from the collection of Peter J. Solomon (Harvard College Class of 1960, MBA 1963) and the holdings of Houghton Library. The exhibition invites you to engage critically with animal anthropomorphism, and delight in the artfulness of this enduring literary genre.
Catalog of an exhibition on view at Houghton Library, Harvard University, September 1, 2021 - January 7, 2022.
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Beatrix Potter (British, 1866–1943, author-illustrator)<br />
Illustration for Appley Dapply’s Nursery Rhymes<br />
“I th<strong>in</strong>k if she lived / <strong>in</strong> a little shoe-house /<br />
That little old woman / was surely a mouse!”<br />
London: Frederick Warne & Co., 1917<br />
Watercolor and <strong>in</strong>k on paper, 31 x 25 cm<br />
Loan from <strong>Peter</strong> J. <strong>Solomon</strong><br />
Potter built on her exist<strong>in</strong>g rough drafts to create this book,<br />
her shortest, consist<strong>in</strong>g of seven rhymes. The draw<strong>in</strong>gs span<br />
her stylistic evolution, from <strong>the</strong> early faithful precision on view<br />
here to a mature pa<strong>in</strong>terly fluidity. The <strong>in</strong>spiration for cast<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>the</strong> old woman <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> shoe as a mouse dated back to 1893.<br />
Potter’s early desire to be a naturalist resulted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> creation of<br />
an extraord<strong>in</strong>ary litany of anthropomorphic animal characters.<br />
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