Local resident Wendell Minor is a household name in the world of American illustration and children’s books, and now he has a terrific solo show at the Norman Rockwell Museum.
With his love for nature, and his interest in iconic American pastoral scenes, Wendell Minor couldn’t have chosen a better place to live than the Northwest Corner of Connecticut. He grew up in Illinois, later lived in New York City, and spent much time in the stunning landscape of New Mexico, but when it came time to settle down, Wendell and his wife, Florence, found their perfect home in the bucolic town of Washington. They were weekenders for about 11 years before finally moving here permanently in 1991. Even though Wendell spends most of his days drawing and painting in his artfully designed studio, he finds inspiration from the surrounding countryside—the beauty of the Litchfield Hills, Lake Waramaug, and the Shepaug River.
In November of 2013, the award-winning illustrator of numerous books was honored with a solo show called Wendell Minor’s America at The Norman Rockwell Museum in Lenox, Massachusetts which continues through May 26, 2014. The exhibition covers his career for over forty years, and celebrates his twenty-fifth anniversary as the nation’s premier historical picture book illustrator. There are over 150 pieces on display and the show brings tremendous insight into the artist’s process, inspirational sources, and his collaborations over the years.
As a young child, Wendell had dyslexia and struggled with reading. He took special reading classes all through school. But through drawing and art, he found his calling. His mother was the director of the preschool and taught art to the children, so she was very supportive of Wendell’s interest in art. Wendell’s younger brother also had talent and became a composer and Jazz musician. Their father was a trained machinist and an avid outdoorsman and passed on his love of nature to Wendell. “I never took to hunting and fishing the way he did, but I realized later in life that my father gave me his gift of keen observation.” As a teen, Wendell was very involved in extra-curricular activities in school, such as the year book, the school newspaper, the theater. It was the arts that he responded to. And he had a good work ethic even back then. He worked at various jobs from delivering newspapers, working in a slaughter house, doing mechanical drawings, being a stock boy in a department store, cleaning machines at his father’s factory, to creating displays at the local Sears. He put himself through art college and graduated without any debt. His first job as an artist was working for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, then he went to a small agency in Aurora. From there he went to New York City and began illustrating book jackets at a premier design studio. Soon he was on his own, freelancing and beginning his career in children’s books.
“Falling into book publishing was the best gift of all,” Minor notes, “It opened an incredibly interesting road for me. I learned the process of discovery as I researched the subjects I was asked to draw.” This still applies today, for example, before starting a painting for a cover of a biography, Wendell reads not only the manuscript of the book he is illustrating, but all of the existing biographies of the person in order to fully understand who that person is. “It’s never boring, never dull.” Not bad for a boy who started off with such difficulty reading. Wendell says, “Adversity is one of the best teachers.”
During his prolific career, he has also found time to teach–something he’s very good at as well. He taught illustration, painting, and typography at the School of Visual Arts in NYC for 11 years, and has lectured all over the country to both children and adults. Wendell loves to teach. “If I can communicate to a kid to go see a Hopper in a museum, it’s worth it.” Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough, who has collaborated with the artist on such books as 1776, John Adams, and Truman, made this remark during the exhibition opening, “Besides being a supremely gifted artist and natural storyteller, Wendell Minor is a very great teacher—which is another reason why his work is of such value.”
Wendell’s wife, Florence, is also extremely talented in the arts. She has a degree in Sociology, went to NYU Film School, worked as a film editor in television, and has a Public Relations background. She worked for years on the television show 20/20 at ABC in Manhattan. She collaborates with Wendell on many books and is a very good writer. She also handles some of the organizational responsibilities in their studio. Together, they are a powerhouse of creativity and productivity.
It was a quantam leap for Wendell and Florence to move out to the country. “We loved the city. We were both nervous about moving here,” Wendell remarks. “But we fell in love with this area and we didn’t want to let it go.” With the advent of technology such as the arrival of FED-EX to the area, and email service was just starting up, they decided to make the change from Greenwich Village to the “village atmosphere” in the country. They found that there was a strong connection between New York City and Washington – a strong artistic and philanthropic community with intellectual scope. After all, the best of the best laid the ground work for our community–Calder, Mailer, Miller, etc. “In Washington, you have the freedom to be who you want to be, without any judgment. After we have travelled, it’s always good to be back home.”
In their beautifully designed studio, they put in long hours, but they still find time to enjoy the area. They love to take a walk at the River Walk, down by the school in the Depot, and they can be found enjoying the landscape at Steep Rock, the Macricostas Preserve, Hidden Valley, and White Memorial. Florence likes to kayak at Lake Waramaug. “We are so lucky to live where we live in terms of land preservation. We are blessed to have so much open land,” Wendell says.
They also frequent many local businesses in the area. Wendell likes having coffee and a muffin at Nine Main in New Preston and Florence likes Upper Crust Pizza in New Milford. They enjoy Bantam Cinema, the GW Tavern, Oliva’s, The Pantry, The Village, and Zini’s Restaurant in Bantam. And of course, the Hickory Stick Bookshop, where all of his books are sold. Wendell has been buying his cars from the Volkswagon dealership on Route 202 in New Milford for 30 years now. Not only do the Minors patronize local businesses, they are also very involved in the community. Wendell is a former board member of SteepRock, they do school visits, donate books and prints to help raise funds locally, and have a long relationship with the Gunn Library and Museum. Wendell designed their logo, as well as the logo for SteepRock.
For his paintings, Wendell often finds inspiration and references from the landscape in the area. Below are a few examples of local scenes that were used in some of his book covers and interior pages.
The exhibition Wendell Minor’s America at The Norman Rockwell Museum in Lenox, Massachusetts continues through May 26, 2014. For more information go to: http://www.nrm.org/2012/11/wendell-minors-america-3/
For more on Wendell Minor, go to: http://www.minorart.com/
