The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Presents Paddington™ Comes to America

Amherst, MA (February 15, 2018)--Sixty years ago, the story of a bear from Peru found a place in children's literary history when William Collins published A Bear Called Paddington. This coming April, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is proud to be the first American museum to feature the beloved bear in Paddington Comes to America. This exhibition is on view from April 14th through October 7th and is generously supported by HarperCollins Children's Books, global publisher of the Paddington Bear books since 1958, and YOTTOY Productions, toy partner of Paddington in the US since 2005.

On Christmas Eve in 1956, Michael Bond spotted a lonely bear in a London shop. He took it home as a present for his wife and they named it Paddington, after the nearby railway station. Michael, then working as a BBC cameraman, began writing a story about the bear. Bond recalled, "After ten days I found that I had a book on my hands. It wasn't written specifically for children, but I think I put into it the kind of things I liked reading about when I was young." A Bear Called Paddington was first published in 1958.



Bond continued writing and 15 Paddington novels, numerous picture books, and many compilations and gift editions have been published since. Today, more than 35 million Paddington books have been sold worldwide and they have been translated into 40 different languages, including Latin. For the last 37 years of his life, Bond lived in London, not far from Paddington Station where it all began. He continued to write until shortly before his death in June 2017 at age 91.



Paddington Comes to America brings together copies of notes from one of Bond's notebooks, his typewriter, first edition books, memorabilia, and 70 original illustrations by six artists, including a black-and-white line drawing by Peggy Fortnum, the first artist to create a visual image of Paddington. Eager for Paddington to be convincing, Fortnum visited the London Zoo to sketch and photograph bears. She described her challenges: "The line has to be expressive. I do lots of drawings. Humorous drawing is more difficult than any other kind of drawing." Fortnum's charming illustrations, matching the warmth of Bond's story, made the idea of a talking bear from Peru seem perfectly reasonable. Bond said of Fortnum: "She thought very highly of Paddington, as I did of her. It was a happy combination."



In the seventies and eighties, several illustrators worked on various Paddington projects. In 1972, Bond wrote the first in a series of books for younger readers. These picture books required a more detailed illustrative style than the novels and Fred Banbery was hired as the artist. Banbery illustrated six Paddington picture books. Museum visitors can view his watercolors from Paddington at the Seaside in the exhibition.



In 1975, illustrator and animator Ivor Wood designed the puppet for the original Paddington television series. Wood also developed a drawn cartoon strip of Paddington that the London Evening News published in the late 1970s. Wood's drawings appeared on a number of products that were licensed around the same time, including a successful stationery line. His six illustrations on view show his penchant for bright colors and bold outlines.



In the 1980s David McKee, who was already well known for writing and illustrating his own books, including King Rollo, Elmer, and Mr. Benn, was hired as the new artist for Paddington. Seven of McKee's paintings from Paddington at the Zoo are showcased in the exhibition. Barry Macey, who was an in-house artist with Paddington & Co., Ltd., created the artwork for much of the older products and some of the prints. His illustrations from Paddington in the Hot Seat, Paddington Passes Through, and Paddington Takes a Cut are on display.



Paddington Comes to America also features the work of New England artist R. W. Alley. In 1997 Alley was commissioned to illustrate a new series of Paddington picture books by HarperCollins for an American audience. His version of Paddington worked so well that, two decades later, Alley continues to illustrate the Paddington books. He worked closely with Bond to develop the visual look of each story. Alley notes the author's openness to change: Bond insisted the first book be re-illustrated to reflect a major renovation at Paddington Station. And although Paddington never ages, he is always relevant for the time. Alley's art from more than 20 Paddington picture books is on exhibit, along with some of his preliminary sketches and dummy books.



Paddington's status as a cultural icon does not go unnoticed in the exhibition. On view are copies of stills from the 1970s stop-motion television series as well as images from the two recent blockbuster Paddington movies. A display of limited-edition plush bears includes a Gabrielle bear. Gabrielle was the first company to create a Paddington bear and was responsible for giving Paddington his Wellington boots, to help him stand up.



Surely one of the highlights for guests to Paddington Comes to America is a recreated double-decker bus. Guests are invited to board the "hop on/hop off" bus, which also doubles as a reading area. Young visitors will receive special Paddington London Bus Passes and will be encouraged to learn more about the famous sites in London featured around the gallery, having their passes stamped at each location.



Programming:

Members Reception: Paddington Comes to America

Saturday, April 21, 2018

5:00 pm Reception

6:15 pm Paddington Bear at 60, with Paddington Bear Illustrator R. W. Alley

Members RSVP by April 16 to Jenny Darling Stasinos at

membership@carlemuseum.org.



Gallery Talk with R. W. Alley and Ellen Keiter

Sunday, April 22, 2018

1:00pm

Free with Museum Admission

Join Artist R. W. Alley and Chief Curator Ellen Keiter for a gallery talk in the special exhibition Paddington Comes to America, which celebrates the 60th anniversary of the iconic Paddington Bear.



Special Storytime: R. W. Alley**

Sunday, April 22, 2018

2:00 pm

Free with Museum admission

R. W. Alley has illustrated over one hundred books for children and, for the past twenty years, has illustrated Michael Bond's Paddington books in all their formats. Join us for a special story time and drawing demonstration with Alley as he reads one of the charming Paddington picture books.

**Book signing to follow program. Can't make it to the event? You may reserve signed books online or contact The Carle Bookshop at shop@carlemuseum.org.



About The Carle

The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a non-profit organization in Amherst, MA, is to inspire a love of art and reading through picture books. A leading advocate in its field, The Carle collects, preserves, presents, and celebrates picture books and picture-book illustrations from around the world. In addition to underscoring the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of picture books and their art form, The Carle offers educational programs that provide a foundation for arts integration and literacy.



Eric Carle and his wife, the late Barbara Carle, co-founded the Museum in November 2002. Carle is the renowned author and illustrator of more than 70 books, including the 1969 classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Since opening, the 43,000-square foot facility has served more than 750,000 visitors, including 50,000 schoolchildren. The Carle houses more than 11,000 objects, including 7,300 permanent collection illustrations. The Carle has three art galleries, an art studio, a theater, picture book and scholarly libraries, and educational programs for families, scholars, educators, and schoolchildren. Educational offerings include professional training for educators around the country and Master's degree programs in children's literature with Simmons College. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 am to 4 pm, Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 12 pm to 5 pm. Open Mondays in July and August and during MA school vacation weeks. Admission is $9 for adults, $6 for children under 18, and $22.50 for a family of four. For further information and directions, call (413) 559-6300 or visit the Museum's website at

www.carlemuseum.org.



For additional press information and/or images, please contact Sandy Soderberg, Marketing Manager 413-559-6315

sandys@carlemuseum.org



For more information about the Paddington brand please contact Polly Emery at The Copyrights Group -

pollyemery@copyrights.co.uk



About Paddington Bear

For 60 years, British-born writer Michael Bond has delighted children and families all over the world with his stories about Paddington, the bear from Darkest Peru, famous for his love of marmalade. Paddington is popular with children and adults alike who feel affectionate and warm towards him; the charm and humour of the Paddington stories is the key to their enduring popularity. Paddington's adventures have been adapted several times for television and at the end of 2014 Paddington made his debut onto the big screen. The movie, produced by StudioCanal, part of the international content and media group Vivendi, is the best-selling non-Hollywood family movie ever released. A second Paddington movie, Paddington 2, launched in the US January 2018.



In 2016, Vivendi took full ownership of the Paddington brand worldwide, with the exception of the classic publishing rights.



In 2015, in recognition of Paddington's extraordinary popularity and success, Michael Bond was made a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to children's literature. Michael Bond died in June 2017, leaving behind a legacy of one of the best loved children's characters in the world. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the first book, A Bear Called Paddington, which was published by William Collins on 13th October 1958.



Follow Paddington on Twitter at @paddingtonbear

Like Paddington's Facebook page.



©P&Co. Ltd./SC 2018

Licensed on behalf of STUDIOCANAL S.A.S by Copyrights Group



About YOTTOY Productions, Inc.

Privately held and New York based since its founding in 1995, YOTTOY (pronounced yàht * toy) - "toy" spelled backwards and forwards - is a leading toy source for the highest level of character product designs. YOTTOY evolves brands into exclusive product lines that exceed style and value expectations, and encourage a special interaction between adults and children, as seen with Saks Fifth Avenue's celebrated Yeti, Lady Gaga's Workshop at Barneys NY, and Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline at the New-York Historical Society. YOTTOY's current collection features over 150 styles of beloved book and entertainment properties ranging from timeless classics, including Paddington Bear, Babar, Madeline, and The Little Prince, to contemporary favorites such as Mo Willems, Poodlena, and Little Blue Truck. YOTTOY styles can be found at specialty stores, museums, boutiques, bookstores, department stores, gift stores and online at YOTTOY.com.



Follow YOTTOY on Twitter at @iloveYOTTOYs, and on Facebook and Instagram @YottoyProductions.

Image credit: R. W. Alley, Illustration for A Bear Called Paddington, HarperCollins, 2007. Courtesy of the artist. © R. W. Alley 2018.





