The artful secrets of Dr Seuss

ANDREW GORRIE/The Dominion Post

STUFFED IF I KNOW: Exhibitions Gallery owner Ron Epskamp with some of Dr Seuss' Unorthodox Taxidermy.

The Goo-Goo Eyed Tasmanian Wolghast and Mulberry Street Unicorn have landed in New Zealand.

They are part of an exhibition of the private art works of Theodor Seuss Giesel – otherwise known as Dr Seuss.

The much-loved children's author and illustrator was a prolific artist whose personal paintings and sculptures remained hidden till after his death in 1991.

An exhibition of 70 editions of his original work opened at Wellington's Exhibitions Gallery yesterday, allowing the first New Zealand audiences to view and purchase the limited-edition art.

Southern hemisphere exhibition curator Trevor Harvey said the show was a "70-year survey of the art of Dr Seuss ... which no-one knew he was doing".

"The beloved author was really an artist ... That's what this exhibition is all about, the 'secret artist'."

Dr Seuss' 44 books had many fans in Australasia, which had the highest per capita readership of the books, which had sold half a billion copies worldwide.

The art on display, which included illustrations, paintings and sculptures, had a recognisable "Seussian" touch, though many paintings were more sophisticated.

Dr Seuss started out doing satirical cartoons, examples of which are on display.

"He commented on everything from the economic situation, politics, to racism, and all of his books had a message."

He had faced xenophobia and poverty growing up, as his German brewer parents settled in the United States during World War I and prohibition, Mr Harvey said.

Dr Seuss owed his poetic talents to his mother, whose baking family used cockney-style ditties to announce the latest batch from the oven.

"He would get sung to sleep with that sort of stuff, so ... he credited his mum with the ability to get the timing of words."

Included in the exhibition is a copy of the earliest recorded sketch of Sam-I-am from Green Eggs & Ham.

Gallery owner Ron Epskamp said the exhibition would be at the gallery until Christmas, and would tour Auckland and Christchurch next year.

- © Fairfax NZ News