In our turbulent times, the slow going elephant is a reassuring presence. Babar is in New York, not for one of his family outings with Celeste and their children but as the star of Drawing Babar: Early Drafts and Watercolors an exhibit at the Morgan Library and Museum.
Unbeknown to me "in 2004 the Morgan acquired the working drafts and printer-ready watercolors for Histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant (1931), the first book by Jean de Brunhoff (1899–1937), and Babar et ce coquin d'Arthur (1946), the first book by Laurent de Brunhoff (b. 1925). Together these two collections—shown virtually in their entirety for the first time—provide an extraordinary record of the working methods of the two men, both painters turned storytellers. From the naming of Babar himself (first called simply "Baby Elephant") to the introduction of the beloved character Queen Celeste—not present in Jean de Brunhoff's first draft—these early sketches and watercolors provide an intimate look at the creation of an enduring fictional world."
Adam Gopnick in Freeing the Elephants (New Yorker, September 22) gives us his take on what Babar contributed to our world as well as the controversies surrounding the placid creature.
The exhibit runs until January 4, 2009.
If you cannot make it to New York, you can always purchased the catalogue (pictured above).
In the nostalgia realm: Opening Today: 'Tintin', Hergé Centennial Show at Pompidou Center in Paris (December 2006)
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