Sitewide Banner Message
Books for fall classes, thought-provoking, exhibition-related items and more... Visit in person or online to see all the exciting new offerings that we have in store for you!
Wall Calendars
The delightfully frightful Addams Family has tickled the dark side of the public’s funny bone for over 90 years. With the creation of Morticia, Gomez, Uncle Fester, and the whole quirky gang, Charles Addams put a satirical spin on the “ideal family.” His eccentric characters have become icons of popular culture, from cartoon strips in to television series, feature films, a Broadway musical, and much more. Thanks to this calendar’s 12 cartoons, you’ll revel in Addams’ deadpan wit all year long.
Before coast-to-coast highways and affordable airlines, trains were the long-distance transit of choice. Nearly every American town boasted a train station, and the sound of the midnight freight was ubiquitous. Railways were both a practical choice and a relatively attainable luxury, but it was the advertising that made the industry a success. Rail companies hired accomplished artists to create posters depicting enticing scenery and celebrating the romance and comfort of train travel, hoping to bring commuters and vacationers on board. Take the scenic route to days past with this calendar of 12 rail posters commemorating both the speeding locomotive and its many destinations across the US.
For centuries, explorers, merchants, and military forces have relied on maps to help navigate our planet. Often skillfully drawn and meticulously plotted, these works of art require skill and creativity to produce. Using anecdotal evidence and scant geographical data, cartographers were known for including fanciful drawings to tease the mind and the imagination. Twelve antique maps from the British Library’s collection of cartographic material invite you to go back in time and explore the world as it used to be.
Anyone for a sly peek into “The Other Book”? A sidelong glance at “A Fearful Holiday” or “A Week-End at Sepulchre”? Edward Gorey fans might have clamored for these and others of the unpublished titles included in this calendar gallery of cover art. Unearthed from the Gorey archive, 11 of these works didn’t reach fruition but are nonetheless suggestive of the “what ifs” and “what the whats” that brought this artist and author international acclaim. And in answer to your question, The Fatal Lozenge is the one published book of this batch by Gorey. Here’s to a year full of delightfully odd humor (and maybe a wayward cat?) from the master of crosshatched inscrutability.
Advice from a crosshatched, glue-pot-toting gent of questionable intent? Yes, please, if the creator of said fellow is Edward Gorey! Gorey’s characters regularly find themselves in odd, even disastrous, circumstances. They’ve seen their fair share of mishaps and are wiser as a result (if they haven’t met their unfortunate ends, of course). Now, they’re passing along their advice in this calendar’s assortment of images from Gorey’s Verse Advice. Weaving tales as unsettling as they are hilarious, Gorey paired ominous humor with vaguely Victorian style, whether he was designing stage sets and costumes or writing plays and books. Occasionally, though, he expressed a fondness for the little things in life. In 1993, the New Yorker first ran Gorey’s Verse Advice, a series of 12 images printed in a four-page spread. From home improvement to social interaction, the advice in these illustrations is quite quotidian
Women have fought for their liberties for centuries. They’ve marched for a more equal society as part of countless intersecting social movements over the years, from women’s suffrage and labor laws to reproductive freedom and civil rights. Alongside their efforts, activist artists created posters and other works of art featuring powerful imagery and bold slogans to rally support—a tradition that continues to this day in protests around the world. The 12 works in this calendar, as well as notes about important moments and figures in women’s rights history, are a part of that legacy.
Have you ever dreamed of an Edwardian collar that prevents dandruff? How about a musical instrument powered by gastric emissions? Or a translator for the secret language of eyebrows? These contraptions could only come from the unmatched imagination and art of Mike Wilks. His elaborate illustrations inspired by William Heath Robinson envision a world where even the most mundane tasks have complex machinery to assist in their completion. Note that the title of this calendar is improbable, not impossible. Let these 12 gadgets inspire your creativity throughout the year.
Renowned painter Jacob Lawrence made his mark on modern art with his devotion to documenting the everyday life and struggles of African Americans throughout history. He is known for depicting the lives of subjects such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and John Brown. In his first narrative series, The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture, Lawrence portrays Toussaint’s journey from a child enslaved at birth to a general who helped lead the Haitian Revolution, using historical events to explore his own contemporary Black experience. The original series, painted between 1936 and 1938, consisted of 41 panels. Fifty years later, he revisited the series, re-creating it as 15 silkscreen prints. Lawrence’s reimagining is a testament to the connection and passion that he felt toward the innate themes of the series. Twelve of these prints are featured in this calendar so that we may continue the storied tradition of retelling—with Toussaint’s narrative as well as with Lawrence’s.
Empowerment through Art. Transformation. Beauty and meaning in all the bits and pieces of life. Betye Saar has long been at the forefront of mixed media assemblage art, and her daughters Lezley Saar and Alison Saar have taken up the torch themselves, adding their individual emphases. This artistic dynasty might work in different styles—from sketchbook spreads to sculptures that incorporate vintage bottles and mini skillets, and even 3D installations with sound—but their paths often converge in themes of identity, spiritualism, and history. Their striking works reference popular culture and family traditions, as well as changing views about gender, feminism, and race. In this calendar, each artist is celebrated with four of her thought-provoking contemporary works.
There is something arresting and exhilarating about the intimate connection between women and literature—an observation that has long captured the interest of artists throughout history. Whether reading letters from friends and loved ones, reviewing the daily news, or devouring the newest novel, the image of the reading woman has been a source of inspiration for many. Regardless of where or when they were created, these portraits are united by a common subject: women dedicating their time to the written word. This calendar features 12 scenes of women enjoying a variety of texts, accompanied by quotes from women about the importance and bliss of reading.