Delightful and scary illustrations of Stephen Gammell on exhibit at Mazza Museum

From comical family adventures to frightening urban legends, the stories of Stephen Gammell have been beloved by readers for decades – and now have a home at the University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum.

The prominent artist has donated more than 700 pieces of artwork, representing 28 titles and including nine books he also authored.

Dan Chudzinksi, Mazza’s director of curation and exhibitions, said the volume of pieces provide a broad view of Gammell’s career and show the diversity of his projects.

The collection features his Caldecott Award winning books: Song and Dance Man in 1989 and the runners up Where the Buffalos Begin in 1982 and The Relatives Came in 1986.

With more than 6,000 picture books published annually, the Caldecott is the most prestigious award celebrating “the best marriage of illustrations and the written word.”

Chudzinski noted the rarity of the honor, adding, “Most picture book artists go their whole lives without even getting nominated.”

Gammell’s distinctive career also is highlighted by his well-known illustrations for the series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and this artwork is on long-time loan to Mazza.

“He reached an audience outside of picture books – that was unique,” and included teenagers and adults fascinated with the horror genre, Chudzinski said.

Scary Stories were a favorite of the curator while he was growing up. He admitted to sleeping with a light on after reading them in third grade.

“Stephen isn’t credited with the urban legends in the books, but he brought them into popularity and into popular culture,” he noted. “They are stories that were inspired by American folklore. This is literature that is original to our culture that is very vivid and visceral.”

The whimsical award-winning illustrations are displayed at Mazza separately but in proximity to the Scary Stories artwork due the chilling subject matter.

Chudzinski recently spoke with Gammell, who at age 81 lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, about his diversity of topics, and the artist summarized that “each book is unique and reflects where I was in my life at the time.”

Gammell declined to choose a favorite from his collection, but he acknowledged that Once Upon McDonald’s Farm is “pretty special” because it recalls fond memories from his childhood.

The Mazza collection features artwork from this book.

Mazza officials believe the exhibit “tells the story behind the storyteller” and are proud that “this is the only place in the world to see these works.”

“Stephen approached us because of Mazza’s reputation for how the work of other artists has been treated. He saw how we display work and was confident his illustrations would be displayed to best tell his story,” Chudzinski explained. “We’re ensuring his legacy, and we have the facilities to preserve and protect it.”

For more information, visit mazzamuseum.org.

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