It may sound absurd, but nerd wasn't a word, until Dr. Seuss made it heard.
"Kids really learned how to read," explained Valerie Jackson of Ann Jackson Gallery. "They were much better readers after the cadence of Dr. Seuss' work and the words he made up. One of the biggest words we use today is nerd. That is a Dr. Seuss word."
Through the Art of Dr. Seuss, Atlanta's Valerie Jackson shares her decades-long passion for the author and artist with audiences right here in Kansas City.
"I started with Dick and Jane -- boring," she said. "Dr. Seuss came out. I loved to read from then on. When I first saw this collection back in 1997, I went back and picked up a book and just the smell of it and the pictures brought me back to when I was that age. It made a huge impact in my life."
On the walls of Leawood Fine Art hang some of the biggest personalities from the pages of Horton Hears a Who and Hop on Pop.
And next to them are the obscure and private pieces most of us have never seen.
"He's not just the Cat in the Hat, and the Grinch," said Jackson. "He was political, he was moral, he was fun, he was kind, he was creative and he was cleaver. People need to know more about Dr. Seuss than just the Grinch that Stole Christmas."
You can see the rare paintings, sculptures and drawings at Leawood Fine Art (11709 Roe Ave., Leawood, Kan.). It's free to look, and art starts at $250.
- Thurs., Sept. 8 - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Fri., Sept. 9 - 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Sat., Sept. 10 - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Sun., Sept. 11 - 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
You can also follow her on Twitter.
