We were saddened at the Norman Rockwell Museum to recently learn of the passing of gifted illustrator, Istvan Banyai, whom we had the pleasure of working with.

Compelling conversations with illustrators, art directors, authors, and scholars will explore more than three hundred years of racial representation in published art and the role of mass-circulated imagery as a force in shaping public perception about people and groups of people. Presented in conjunction with Imprinted: Illustrating Race, the Museum’s current exhibition, this symposium will spark dialogue about the ways that art, advertising, and systems of publishing have helped to frame public opinion, and how the art of illustration is a force for change today.

Recordings of each session will be made available on or after September 28, 2022.

I’ve been enticed and excited by Bascove’s imagery ever since I first laid eyes on her signature book covers and jackets designed for publishers throughout the 1970s and 80s. Her emotionally-charged woodcuts, pen and brush drawings and hand-crafted gothic lettering grabbed my senses and intensified my interest. The books with her peerless illuminations revealing the essence of an author’s work were often put face-out on the shelves of my favorite bookselling haunts.

Opening June 11, 2022, Imprinted: Illustrating Raceexamines the role of published images in shaping attitudes toward race and culture. More than 100 works of art and artifacts of widely circulated illustrated imagery will be on view, produced from the late eighteenth century to today, which have an impact on public perception about race in the United States. The exhibition will explore stereotypical racial representations that have been imprinted upon us through the mass publication of images. It culminates with the creative accomplishments of contemporary artists and publishers who have shifted the cultural narrative through the creation of positive, inclusive imagery emphasizing full agency and equity for all.