Corey Helford Gallery Presents “In The Nursery”

“In The Nursery” is a contemporary re-imagining of the lost art form of paintings and sculptures for children’s rooms and nurseries. Long before anime and Muppet posters, a number of noted artists concerned
themselves with creating work for the one room of the household not usually decorated with fine art – the nursery. Frances Hook, who created the children’s portraits for the Northern Tissue labels in the 1950’s, and
Margaret Keane, famous for her her wide-eyed animals and children, both created memorable and highly collectable works for children’s bed and play rooms. Prints taken from famous illustrated children’s books, such as Milne’s “Winnie The Pooh” and Jean de Brunhoff’s “Babar the Elephant”, and the beautifully detailed works of Edmund Dulac, Gustaf Tenggren and Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) also filled the nursery walls with the work of classically trained illustrators and artists.

Now, in a time when innocence is challenged and contemporary parents’ taste in art has significantly changed, “In The Nursery” examines the themes and styles of nursery and children’s art, both bitter and sweet. The works range from Ray Caesar’s exquisite digital painting in neutrals and rich chocolate browns capturing a young Victorianesque mother gazing adoringly at her very unusual baby in its carriage to street artist Aiko’s kaleidoscopic stenciled imagery of flowers, astronauts, Hello Kitty and spray cans surrounding a traditional Japanese woman.