The idea for his most famous book came from watching ducklings cross a busy street to get to Boston’s Public Garden. “McCloskey’s stories portrayed American life in its most wholesome and good-natured manifestations,” declares a sign in the McCloskey exhibit. In the books, the towns Alto and Centerburg are stand-ins for McCloskey’s hometown. “Homer Price” (1943) and “Centerburg Tales” (1951) tell tall tales of a boy who thwarts bandits with a skunk and tends a malfunctioning doughnut machine. He wrote and illustrated his first book, “Lentil” (1940), about a boy who can’t sing in key, but saves the town’s celebration by playing harmonica. Upon the advice of esteemed children’s book editor May Massee, McCloskey looked to his Midwestern small-town youth for inspiration. McCloskey studied at Vesper George School of Art in Boston and the National Academy of Design in New York, but his fine-art career stalled.

He taught soap carving at Hamilton’s YMCA Camp Campbell Gard, and carved a totem pole that stood at the camp for 50 years.Īt age 19, he modeled the designs for the art deco bas-reliefs carved in the Municipal Building at 20 High St. Everything is done by hand with engraving tools and various layers of wood are used to make the illustrations.” The young McCloskey told The Enquirer in 1931, “It took time, yes, about a month, to complete the illustrations for that George Washington book. In his youth, he was known for his harmonica playing, inventions and carving, all of which played parts in his books.Īs a student at Hamilton High School, he created the booklet “George Washington Bicentennial Calendar” with nearly 30 wood engravings telling the history of the first president. It is a rare glimpse behind the scenes of an artist awarded two Caldecott Medals and three Caldecott Honors for distinguished picture books.Īlso, it is a fine tribute to one of the region’s best-loved artists.

The exhibition also traces McCloskey’s creative process, from character studies to thumbnail sketches, mock-ups, and finished illustrations complete with pencil marks and taped-on lettering. Pen-and-ink drawings on tracing paper may seem out of place in the art museum’s hallowed halls, but they are part of the growing acceptance of illustration in the art world. More than 100 original art pieces span McCloskey’s career, including work from the children’s classics “Make Way for Ducklings,” “Blueberries for Sal” and “Homer Price.” 9, celebrates the children’s book illustrator and Hamilton native whose work has delighted readers for generations. The museum’s special exhibition, “Make Way for Ducklings: The Art of Robert McCloskey,” open through Sept.

The Cincinnati Art Museum has made way for Robert McCloskey’s ducklings – and his blueberries, bears and doughnut machine.

Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey