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		Dr. Seuss | Biography Theodor Seuss Geisel a.k.a. Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)

You may think you're familiar with the work of the man who delighted millions as "Dr. Seuss" But the wildly imaginative creations included in the Secret Art Collection show a previously unseen dimension of Geisel's art. These sophisticated and whimsical paintings, created for his own pleasure and never before shown to the public, will enchant and amaze you!

These fantastical images have the inimitable style of Geisel's alter ego Dr. Seuss, frequently depicting outlandish creatures in otherworldly settings. The puckish Seuss humor is in evidence, as well as the insight that often gave his stories deeper meaning. But these paintings break new ground, using a dazzling rainbow of hues not seen in the primary-color palette of Geisel's books for children.

For nearly sixty years, Theodor Seuss Geisel has delighted millions worldwide with his fanciful and often times surreal worlds in which moral and social tales unfold with the ease and excitement of a perpetual child. His unbridled creativity and his ability to touch the hearts of children, parents and grandparents alike goes unmatched within the 20th century art world.

As an illustrator, Dr. Seuss reached beyond the scope of most artists; his collection of more than 48 books for kids turned children’s literacy on its head. It began in 1957 with a captivating story about an uninvited cat in a tilted stovepipe hat that created mayhem and magic known as the Cat in the Hat. He was a proponent for equality and became the education of tolerance to a whole generation with books such as The Sneeches, Horton Hears a Who and Yertle the Turtle. Green Eggs & Ham is the 3rd largest selling book of all time! Seuss is also recognized for raising our conscience with hidden and not so hidden morals and messages, such as The Lorax, who remains a hero for environmentalists of all ages.

The 100th birthday of Dr. Seuss in 2004 will be a year long celebration that pays tribute to Ted Geisel’s creative and artistic contributions in the 20th century. In 2002, three museum exhibitions opened featuring The Art of Dr. Seuss; one at the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, one at the Connecticut Valley Historical Society and the third museum show opened at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, which featured all of the original works from “The Lorax.” A most notable occasion to honor the life of this beloved man was the unveiling of The Dr. Seuss National Memorial & Sculpture Garden, which will remain a permanent tribute to the characters he created.

Other celebrations in this “Seussentennial” are: The Cat in the Hat movie starring Mike Meyers, a major archive exhibition that will be unveiled at the UCSD Mandeville Library and a Postage Stamp to honor Ted Geisel, which will be unveiled on March 2, 2004. Additionally, The American Library Association announces the inception of the Ted Geisel Award in recognition of the country’s best beginner reader book author.

The Secret Art of Dr Seuss Collection has been recreated with great care by the widow of Dr. Seuss, Audrey Geisel, who will leave the intact estate of originals to a museum. These fine art prints and sculptures, beautifully produced in small editions, reflect a sophisticated whimsical painter whose unique style is in a league of its own and has won applause across the world, and the praise of other contemporary masters.

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Dr. Seuss | Chronology

 

1904 Theodor Seuss Geisel born March 2 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1922-25 Attends Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
1925 Is editor-in-chief of Dartmouth’s humor magazine, Jack-o-Lantern.
1925-26 Attends Lincoln College, Oxford, England.
1926-27 Travels through Europe.
1927 Returns to United States. Lives in New York until 1943.
Sells first cartoons to Judge magazine. Publishes steady stream of cartoons and prose for College Humor, Liberty, Vanity Fair, and Life.
1931 Illustrates Boners for Viking Press.
1935 Creates Essomarine advertising campaign for Standard Oil Company of New Jersey.
Creates the cartoon strip Hejji for Hearst newspapers.
1937 Writes his first book for children, And to Think That I saw It on Mulberry Street.
1938 The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is published.
1939 The King’s Stilts is published.
The Seven Lady Godivas, a book for adults, is published.
1940 Horton Hatches the Egg is published.
1940-42 Works as editorial cartoonist for PM newspaper.
1943-46 Serves in Army Signal Corps during World War II. Receives Legion of Merit for
educational and informational films.
1946 Academy Award, Best Documentary Short Subject, for Hitler Lives, written for the
army as Your Job in Germany.
Moves permanently to California.
1947 Academy Award, Best Documentary Feature, for Design for Death, a history of the
Japanese people, written in collaboration with Helen Palmer Geisel.
McElligot’s Pool is published.
1948 Moves to La Jolla, California.
Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose is published.
1949 Creates advertising campaign for Ford.
Bartholomew and the Oobleck is published.
1950 If I Ran the Zoo is published.
1951 Academy Award, Animated Cartoon, for Gerald McBoing-Boing.
1952 Writes and designs The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T., a full-length feature film.
1953 Scrambled Eggs Super! is published.
1954 Writes “Modern Art on Horseback,” script for a television-radio workshop sponsored
by the Ford Foundation and aired on NBC. Actors include Hans Conried, Burgess
Meredith, Dr. Seuss.
Horton Hears a Who! is published.
Creates advertising campaign for Holly Sugar.
On Beyond Zebra! is published.
Receives doctor of humane letters (hon.) from Dartmouth.
Creates Signs of Civilization, anti-billboard pamphlet, for the city of La Jolla.
If I Ran the Circus is published.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and The Cat in the Hat are published.
Becomes president of Beginner Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Exhibits at the Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego.
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories are published.
Happy Birthday to You! is published.
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish and Green Eggs and Ham are published.
The Sneetches and Other Stories is published.
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book is published.
Dr. Seuss’s ABC and Hop on Pop are published.
1965 Fox in Socks and I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew are published.
1967 The Cat in the Hat Song Book is published.
1968 Receives doctor of humane letters (hon.) from American International College,
Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Foot Book is published.
1969 I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories and My Book about Me are published.
1970 I Can Draw It Myself and Mr. Brown Can Moo! are published.
1971 Receives Peabody Awards for television specials How the Grinch Stole Christmas
and Horton Hears a Who.
The Lorax is published.
1972 Receives Critics Award, International Animated Cartoon Festival, Zagreb,
Yugoslavia, and Silver Medal, International Film and TV Festival of New York for
The Lorax.
Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! is published.
1973 Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? And The Shape of Me and Other Stuff are
published.
1974 There’s a Wocket in My Pocket! and Great Day for Up! are published.
1975 Fiftieth Anniversary Retrospective is organized by Dartmouth.
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! is published.
1976 Receives first Outstanding California Author Award from California Association of
Teachers of English.
The Cat’s Quizzer is published.
1976-77 Exhibits at La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.
1977 Receives doctor of humane letters (hon.) from Lake Forest College, Illinois.
Receives Emmy Award, Best Children’s Special, for Halloween Is Grinch Night.
1978 Receives Roger Revelle Award from University of California, San Diego.
I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! is published.
1979 Oh Say Can You Say? is published.
1980 Receives doctor of literature (hon.) from Whittier College, California.
Receives Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from Association for Library Service to
Children, American Library Association.
1981 Dr. Seuss Day is proclaimed by governors of Alabama, Arkansas, California,
Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, and Utah to celebrate Seuss’s seventy-
seventh birthday.
1982 Receives Regina Medal from Catholic Library Association.
Receives Special Award for Distinguished Service to Children from National
Association of Elementary School Principals.
Receives Emmy Award, Best Children’s Special, for The Grinch Grinches the Cat in
the Hat.
Hunches in Bunches is published.
1983 Receives doctor of literature (hon.) from J.F. Kennedy University, Orinda, California.
1984 Receives Pulitzer Prize.
The Butter Battle Book is published.
1985 Receives doctor of fine arts (hon.) from Princeton University, New Jersey.
1986 You’re Only Old Once! is published.
1986 Named Literary Lion bv New York Public Library.
1990 Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is published.
1991 Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, dies at age eighty-seven.
1994 Daisy-Head Mayzie is published.
1995 The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss is published.
1996 My Many Colored Days is published, with illustrations by Steve Johnson and Lou
Fancher.
1998 Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! is published with some help from Jack Prelutsky and
Lane Smith.
1999 Universal Studios opens its Island of Adventure theme park which includes Seuss
Landing.
2000 Gerald McBoing Boing is published.
2000 Universal Pictures’ Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is released
2000 Seussical the Musical opens on Broadway
2008 Horton Hears a Who! feature film released by Blue Sky & Fox

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