Past exhibitions and special projects
ELOISE AT THE MUSEUM
June 20, 2017 – October 9, 2017
New York Historical Society Museum & Library
170 Central Park West
at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street)
New York, NY 10024
Hilary Knight (b. 1926). Illustration for the Plaza Hotel children’s menu, 1957-8. Paper. Collection of Hilary Knight. Copyright © by Kay Thompson.
Hilary Knight (b. 1926). Unpublished color concept rendering for “There is a lobby which is enormously large . . .” ca 1955. . Eloise. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1955. Graphite, pen and ink and watercolor paper. Collection of Hilary Knight. Copyright © by Kay Thompson.
Hilary Knight (b. 1926). Unused cover sketch, 1955. Eloise. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1955. Graphite, pen and ink, watercolor and gouache on paper. Collection of Hilary Knight. Copyright © by Kay Thompson.
Hilary Knight (b. 1926). Illustration for the Plaza Hotel children’s menu, 1957-8. Paper. Collection of Hilary Knight. Copyright © by Kay Thompson.
The New-York Historical Society celebrates the feisty charm and audacious spirit of Eloise, who continues to be a picture book superstar more than 60 years after her debut. Eloise at the Museum reveals the creative collaboration between cabaret star Kay Thompson (1909–1998) and the young illustrator Hilary Knight (b. 1926) that brought the precocious character to life.
For generations of children, the Eloise book series is a favorite. It tells the story of a 6-year old troublemaker who lives at New York's Plaza Hotel. Now "Eloise at the Museum," an exhibition at the New York Historical Society, looks at the creators of the series: author Kay Thompson, who died in 1998, and illustrator Hilary Knight, who's now 90.