Paul Gulla Fine Art

06/11/2026

Bring on the Books! Acrylic on panel by Gerald McDermott, Children’s Book Week Poster, 1984. Since 1919, The Children’s Book Council has held Children’s Book Week to provide a time for libraries and schools to anchor events that celebrate and support the essential role of children’s books. Beginning with Jesse Wilcox Smith, America’s most famous illustrator, posters were made to spread the word and encourage participation throughout the country. The slogan for the first poster was “More Books in the Home!” This same year, Macmillan became the world’s first publisher to devote and editorial department solely to making quality books for young readers. As the years progressed, new themes would be chosen, setting priorities such as N. C. Wyeth’s 1927 Romance, History, Travel, to encourage classic literature, or 1931’s Round The World Book Fair, to help lead children to a global perspective. 1944’s poster by Nedda Walker was the first to portray an African American child, 1965’s poster featuring Ezra Jack Keats’A Snowy Day was the second. For over 100 years, the posters followed the needs of children and produced encouragement for kids to read and for society to make it possible.



“Dream weaver, tale spinner, portrayer of visions, interpreter of the human spirit,” Gerald McDermott (1941-2012) wrote and illustrated over 30 books for children, often based on mythology and folklore. A graduate of the Pratt Institue, McDermott was the first Fellow of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. He would also produce several animated shorts for PBS’s The Electric Company. His bright expressive and colorful style has made him a favorite of both children and adults. He won Caldecott Honors in 1972 for Anansi the Spider and in 1993 for Raven: A Trickster Tale From The Pacific Northwest, which also won a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. In 1975 he was awarded the coveted 1975 Caldecott Medal for his Arrow to the Sun: A Tale from the Pueblo. He produced five animated film adaptions of his

05/29/2026

Some Mo Willems Doodles. These drawings were showcased in volume 31 of the Mo Willems Sketchbook where the drawings spanned 1 to 100. See them on the web site mowillemsart(dot)com

05/21/2026

05/19/2026

Made it right at the tail end of the American Art Fair in New York. Great work, though, I'm sure the best works came off the walls in the first two days. As a non-buyer, I couldnt bring myself to take up salespeople's time when they could be spending it talking to collectors. Still, there were some nice N.C. Wyeths, some Norman Rockwells, and a stand out "Price on request" Andrew Wyeth that i asked about, only to know how far off my guess was. Also a lovely Adolf Dehn Central Park drawing (he was an early boyfriend and long term friend of Wanda G'ag-of Millions of Cats fame-they moved to NY from Minnesota together)

05/19/2026

Hear my introduction to the Soma Museum show, Picture Books Come Alive! my collaboration with R. Michelson Galleries in Seoul, Korea. It is a great show, 140 illustrations by Jerry Pinkney, Ian Falconer, R. W. Alley, Rosemary Wells, Marc Brown, Robin Preiss Glasser, Maurice Sendak, Gerald McDermott, and Timothy Marwood (Thomas the Train). On view until September 6th for anyone passing through Seoul.

Gallerist Paul Gulla invites the public to attend Picture Books Come Alive! and exhibit of children's book illustration at the Soma Museum of Art in Seoul, K...

05/13/2026

Gerald McDermott's 1973 Caldecott Medal-Winning book, Arrow to the Sun was simultaneously created along with the short film. George Nicholson, publisher and editor at Holt, Rinehart & Winston met McDermott upon seeing his films Anansi The Spider and The Magic Tree at an art theater in Manhattan in the early 1970's. Nicholson was so taken with the films, the two bonded and he encouraged the filmmaker to convert them into children's books. The initial intention was that the film materials could just be transferred to the pages of the book but it was soon evident that the needs of the book were entirely different from the film so each page was redrawn with various cels from the animation collaged together on top of the gouache paintings. When Nicholson moved to Viking in the mid-70's McDermott followed and Arrow to the Sun was published.

https://youtu.be/egzE3edzPqw

This short film by award winning film-maker and children's book creater, Gerald McDermott is the retelling of an Acoma Pueblo tale in which a young boy seeks...

05/06/2026

Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct, by Mo Willems. Original drawings with book pages.

05/03/2026

Icarus, Gouache and collage 13 x 16 in. By Gerald McDermott from the 1981 book Sunflight.

Daedalus was a skilled Athenian architect and craftsman, and was commission by King Minos of Crete to design a complex labyrinth to contain a fearsome Minotaur that was devouring people. In order to make sure the secrets of the labyrinth did not get out, Minos then imprisoned Daedalus and his son, Icarus in the labyrinth. To help them escape, Daedalus contructed wings fashioned with wax. In young Icarus's exuberance, he flew too close to the Sun, causing the wax to melt and him to fall into the sea.

The book is based on an animated film of the same name produced by McDermott in 1966, just a few years after his graduation from the Pratt Institute The film was awarded the Zellerbach Award for Film as Art at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Gerald McDermott (1941-2012) wrote and illustrated over 30 books for children, often based on mythology and folklore. A graduate of the Pratt Institue, McDermott was the first Fellow of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. He would also produce several animated shorts for PBS’s The Electric Company. His bright expressive and colorful style has made him a favorite of both children and adults. He won Caldecott Honors in 1972 for Anansi the Spider and in 1993 for Raven: A Trickster Tale From The Pacific Northwest, which also won a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. In 1975 he was awarded the coveted 1975 Caldecott Medal for his Arrow to the Sun: A Tale from the Pueblo. He produced five animated film adaptions of his books.

05/02/2026

Mo Willems limited edition archival pigment prints. Hand signed by Mo! Order directly from my web site mowillemsart.com or follow the link in the bio.

04/25/2026

Compare-Contrast, a 2021 acrylic by Mo Willems. Mo had been increasingly exploring abstraction in recent years. As a response to shifts in National events, 2021 saw a new art exhibit, Bigger Thoughts showcasing a marked focus on what he described as "fundamental elements of line, shape, and color" to help shedblight on our need to " re-adjust fundamental elements of our National life" The art was included in his annual sketchbook. There was also a new children's book, Opposites Abstract with a corresponding interactve touring museum exhibit, both of which encouraged kids to engage with art and the feelings that it can spark.

See more of Mo's abstract work on my web site. Link in the bio.