Ashley Bryan

It’s not everyday children’s book illustration is featured at a major art museum. Kudos to Portland Museum of Art for their just-opened exhibit, Painter and Poet: The Art of Ashley Bryan. I attended the panel talk on Thursday that was to be between our local powerhouse artist, Daniel Minter, and Nick Clark, Director of the Ashley Bryan Center.

But Ashley was there! At 95, he is a living legend, and led the packed house in a rousing recital of a Langston Hughes poem. He did this when I last saw him, at the Maine College of Art commencement where he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate. He will do this with any group, as a wake-up to community. Everyone feels connected by poetry out loud!

Jennifer DePrizio, Ashley Bryan, Daniel Minter, Nick Clark in conversation at the Portland Museum of Art

Ashley is a maker of many things. He talked about beach combing on Little Cranberry Island, where he has lived for decades. He can put two shells together and suddenly see a mask. He grew up drawing all the time, and despite racial discrimination against blacks applying to college, was accepted at the Cooper Union.

His studies were interrupted by World War II, where he served in a segregated unit of stevedores, keeping a sketchbook in his gas mask. These drawings are part of the exhibit, and are evidence of his dedication to drawing as a way of understanding the world.

There were a limited number of images that looped on a screen. One was of a sculpture of Ashley. I don’t know the artist, but I was captivated by the forms and sketched it last night.

Ashley took some questions, including “how did you come to Maine?” It was by way of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, which he attended. He first saw the islands off shore and wanted to go explore. Upon arriving at the dock on Little Cranberry, he felt instantly at home as islanders helped him unload his bags.

He talked about the importance of children’s book art, as the formative art in which children see themselves and others, how it shapes identities and is a primary understanding of humanity and the world at large. He said that children’s book illustration deserves more respect. It should not be minimized as “kidlit” or simply cute. Hear, hear!

It’s rare to see Daniel Minter not wearing his signature hat, but here his hands remind me of his paintings, in which a spiritual energy is present in the unseen spaces between. He talked about the importance of Ashley’s work representing African American culture and themes, the first he came across in his early career as an illustrator.

The talk came to an end and the audience was invited to see the exhibit, which is past the PMA shop and in the wing past the sculpture of Ulysses Grant. I need to go back when it’s not as packed!

Ashley is remarkable in his breadth of media. There are drawings, block prints, cut paper collages, and delicate gouache paintings like this one. My daughter was delighted to realize Ashley has illustrated What a Wonderful World, a favorite in her kindergarten classroom.

And there are his puppets!

My heart swelled to see his books in the gallery, too.

There are several supporting events but I’m looking forward most to Theater Ensemble of Color’s adaptation of Beautiful Blackbird in October.

Meanwhile, go see the work of this incredible artist, mover, and maker! Thank you, Ashley, for bringing so much light to this world.