Gallery Celebrates Seuss with Collection of Paintings, Rarities

The Cat in the Hat and How The Grinch Stole Christmas! are amoung the most famous of the Dr. Seuss books. But many fans are surprised to learn that Seuss created an immense body of artwork in his personal time when he wasn’t writing books.

“Not many people knew Seuss made art aside from illustrations,” said Bonnie Mansour of Art Leaders Gallery. “He was incredibly prolific; creating paintings, working with bronze, and sculpting imaginary taxidermy animals."  

 Art Leaders Gallery, co-owned by Bonnie and Jason Mansour, has carried pieces associated with both well-known characters and many of “secret art” pieces never seen by the public until the 1991 death of Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel, in March 1904.

Normally featuring between 20-30 pieces by Seuss, Art Leaders increased the display to 60 pieces for the March celebration. The gallery is at 14 Mile Road and Northwestern Highway.

Originally overseen by Geisel's wife Audrey, each piece was hand-selected for reproduction by him so that the pieces are not a random collection of found objects, but a composed assortment of one of the century’s famous artists.

Many of the "secret art" pieces explore more mature themes. The mixed-media "A View from a Window..." mimics a voyeuristic vantage point of watching a sunbather through a screen-window. Through the unique rendering, the piece takes on an air of the playfully surreal.   "A Prayer for a Child" evokes existential longing by depicting the vastness of the cosmos alongside a tiny Seussian house.

Gallery visitors see whimsical mounted heads depicting familiar characters and odd creations. “Everyone has fond memories of these characters and Seuss’ distinct style,” said Director Kelley Knoll.  “People can’t have just one. ... There’s a fabulous turnout every year. We dedicate more time to Seuss’ work than to any other artist."

"We've had about 3,000 people come through this month alone" said Mansour. "The secret art really grabs people because they're usually only familiar with the illustration work."

The Seuss celebration will run through Saturday.