Words & Pictures Museum facts for kids

Words & Pictures Museum of Fine Sequential Art

Established	1992
Dissolved	1999
Location	140 Main Street Northampton, Massachusetts
Type	the exhibition of narrative art, cartoons, comic books, and graphic novels
Collection size	20,000

The Words & Pictures Museum of Fine Sequential Art was a special art museum located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It focused on showing narrative art, which tells stories through pictures, as well as cartoons, comic books, and graphic novels. The museum was open from 1992 to 1999. At one point, it had an amazing collection of 20,000 original artworks. These pieces came from many famous artists like Jack Kirby, Frank Frazetta, and Frank Miller.

Discovering the Museum's Story

The Words & Pictures Museum was created in 1990 by an artist named Kevin Eastman. He is famous for being one of the people who helped create the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Opening Its Doors

The museum first opened to the public on October 9, 1992. It was located in a building called the Roundhouse Building in Northampton.

Moving to a New Home

In late 1994, the museum moved to a new, bigger location. This new home was in the Beardsley Building, named after an English artist named Aubrey Beardsley. It was a modern, four-floor building in downtown Northampton. The museum stayed there until it closed.

The Museum Closes

Even though the museum received a large donation in 1996, it started having money problems by mid-1997. The Words & Pictures Museum closed its doors for good on July 16, 1999.

The Virtual Museum

After the physical museum closed, its educational programs moved online. This became the Virtual Words & Pictures Museum. It offered online exhibits and research help. However, the virtual museum's website has not been updated since 2002.

Exploring Past Exhibitions

The museum hosted many exciting shows featuring different artists and types of sequential art.

Early Exhibitions (1992-1993)

• Cartoonist John Severin's art was shown three times.
• He was part of the grand-opening show from October 1992 to January 1993.
• He also appeared in "War No More" (May to August 1993).
• And in "Classic Comics: A Selection of Stories from EC Comics" (December 1995 to February 1996).
• The "War No More" exhibit in 1993 also featured artists like George Pratt and Bill Sienkiewicz.

Mid-1990s Shows (1994-1996)

• In 1994, there was a special exhibition about the art of Jack Kirby.
• A 1995 show focused on Frank Miller, also including works by Bill Sienkiewicz and Klaus Janson.
• The 1996 exhibitions included "Oliphant: The New World Order."
• There were also shows about classic EC Comics and artists from Image Comics.
• A Cerebus exhibit in 1996 featured Dave Sim and Gerhard.
• Later in 1996, a show celebrated women in comics, with artists like Mary Fleener and Trina Robbins.

Later Exhibitions (1997-1999)

• In 1997, the museum celebrated 20 years of Heavy Metal magazine.
• A 1998 show called "The Best of Fantagraphics" featured artists like Peter Bagge and Dan Clowes.
• The final show in 1999 highlighted works by contemporary African American comics creators. This included artists such as Rob Stull and Brian Stelfreeze.