It was the work of Nura Woodson Ulreich, the Kansas City, Missouri-born author and illustrator whose work had largely slipped out of sight after her death at age 61 in 1950. Trained in New York and Chicago, she had spent time in Europe developing a modernist style that “resulted in stylized images of children set in dreamlike landscapes and interiors,” according to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, which is currently showing Finding Nura: Rediscovering an American Modernist from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection. Her books for children include The Buttermilk Tree (1934) and The Kitten Who Listened (1950).
After that initial encounter, the Daniels, who collect women artists from the Golden Age of Illustration, sought out more of Woodson Ulreich’s work, amassing a collection that not only forms the basis for the exhibition comprising sixty paintings, watercolors, lithographs, and first editions, but aims to revive interest in her after seventy years of indifference.
“We hope to bring Nura to the attention of the public with these impressive works of art,” commented Kendra.
See some of Woodson Ulreich’s artwork and exhibition installation views here. The exhibition runs in Amherst, Massachusetts, through November 6, 2022.
