seven stories

Through the Magic Mirror, the World of Anthony Browne

Saturday 9 April 2011 - 14 March 2012.  

Anthony Browne is a truly unique and exceptional picture book artist whose pictures often tell more of the story than the words.

Anthony Browne.

Through the Magic Mirror, the World of Anthony Browne brings Anthony’s work to life, with real street scenes including the infamous Willy the Wimp, the character said to be based on Anthony himself.

Visitors can enter Anthony’s family home and meet Mum and Dad, with original family photographs and artwork from My Mum and My Dad. Then you can exit through the back yard where you may notice strange shapes forming from Changes. Take a stroll in the park or visit a life-size gorilla in the zoo, showcasing artwork from Little Beauty. Visitors will then find themselves in a world of enchantment as they enter the forest where Anthony Browne’s fairytale adaptations can be found, including Hansel and Gretel, Me and You, Bear Hunt and The Tunnel. The last stop before exiting the gallery is to visit the gallery within a gallery and play Anthony Browne’s The Shape Game.

Through the Magic Mirror, the World of Anthony Browne is the first UK exhibition featuring the current Children’s Laureate, which spans his whole career in illustration from 1976 to the present day. Anthony explains: “I am so pleased that Seven Stories has created this exhibition that looks retrospectively at my life and work in such an imaginative way.” 

I believe the best picture books leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that’s filled by the reader’s imagination, adding so much to the excitement of the book.

The exhibition opened at Seven Stories in Newcastle on Saturday 9 April 2011 and will run until Wednesday 14 March 2012, then will tour nationally the following year.  Funding has been secured from Arts Council England to support a UK tour.

Supported by Walker Books, Booktrust, Random House Children’s Books, Action for Children and Northern Rock Foundation.