Selected Paintings by Barbara Cooney Through Sept. 13

Story posted June 01, 2009

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is celebrating influential author and artist Barbara Cooney with a sweeping two-part exhibition, Selected Paintings by Barbara Cooney.

A comprehensive survey of paintings from four of her most distinguished books is on display through September 13, 2009.

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From Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney, 1982

Bringing together original sketches, preparatory drawings and finished paintings, this exhibition presents a rare opportunity to step into Cooney’s world.

This exhibition features a wide selection of images and objects from Cooney's celebrated children’s stories: Miss Rumphius, Hattie and the Wild Waves, Island Boy and Eleanor.

With the exception of Eleanor, based on the life of first-lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Cooney considered these to be her composite autobiography.

"Miss Rumphius has been, perhaps, the closest to my heart," said Cooney of her most famous character.

"As I worked she gradually seemed to become my alter ego. Perhaps she had been that right from the start."

Living the later part of her life in Damariscotta, Maine, the New England coast inspired Cooney's work, especially Miss Rumphius. She gifted these especially cherished illustrations to the Bowdoin College Museum of Art upon her death in 2000.

Miss Rumphius panoramic530.jpg
From Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney, 1982

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