More than Words: American Illustrations from the Collection

A picture is worth a thousand words,” or so the well-worn adage goes. But what happens when a picture is combined with words? More than Words: American Illustrations from the Collection reveals the varied possibilities that result from a mingling of image and text. It highlights how artists translate authors’ words, sometimes precisely and other times with a dose of creative license. Their illustrations amplify stories—both fictional and factual—propel them forward and pull us in deeper. Some push beyond the text to offer new details. Others are stand-alone images only later bound together with words. In all instances, whether as original art or presented in a book or periodical, the illustrations on view delight the eye and spark the imagination.

Image:      N. C. Wyeth, American (1882–1945). Illustration for “Drums,” ca. 1928. Oil on canvas, 26 1/2 x 40 1/8 inches (67.31 x 101.92 cm). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Gift of Sarah and Landon Rowland, 2006.6.