One of the primary goals of The Art of Dr. Seuss project is to educate the public with information detailing the history of this celebrated collection. From the project’s inception in 1997, we have educated thousands of people including collectors, galleries, museums, curators, and the media with precise information designed to edify Dr. Seuss enthusiasts and sophisticated art collectors alike.  Following each collection below is a link for A Guide to the New York Print and Photograph Law www.collegeart.org/guidelines/photolaw.html. This is the foundation for this collection of artworks and is considered the gold standard in the art industry. 

This intentionally “low-tech” method involves highly skilled artisans and master printers whose job it is to faithfully re-create Dr. Seuss’s original works by individually drawing and/or separating each color, then mixing and printing them one at a time via a plate or stone lithograph press. It can take up to three months to create each individual print utilizing this traditional printmaking method. The result is a beautifully created artwork, second only to the original itself.  (Complete documentation of each print is included in the Certificate of Authenticity.) A Guide to the New York Print and Photograph Law "www.collegeart.org/guidelines/photolaw.html serves as the foundation for these reproductions and is considered the gold standard in the industry. The College Art Association (CAA) http://www.collegeart.org/ has established a set of legal and ethical guidelines for practitioners, enthusiasts, and interpreters of art.

Hand-pulled serigraphy is also known as silkscreen printing. This method gained prominence in the mid-1960s when artists such as Andy Warhol took notice of silkscreen’s potential for fine art printmaking and began utilizing it to create multiple layer graphics full of bright colors and crisp detail.

Like hand-pulled lithography, this intentionally “low-tech” method is usually carried out under the direction of a master printmaker who must carefully break down an original painting into its many colors, and then individually draw and/or separate, mix and print each color, one layer at a time. Many Seuss prints are so complex that it can take up to 70 individually printed colors to faithfully reproduce Dr. Seuss’s original painting. Additionally, some works in the collection employ more modern printmaking techniques not available to artists of past generations. Mediums such as giclee offer a wide range of color saturation, coupled with a delicate subtlety that lends itself well to certain works. Prints reproduced using this method capitalize on the brilliant fidelity of specially calibrated digital presses, coupled with inks and papers which were developed over many years and specifically designed for fine art printmaking. Just as silkscreen printmaking revolutionized the way artist and printmakers expressed themselves in the 1960s, so too has giclee printmaking in the early 21st century. (Complete documentation of each print is included in the Certificate of Authenticity.) A Guide to the New York Print and Photograph Law http://www.collegeart.org/guidelines/photolaw.html serves as the foundation for these reproductions and is considered the gold standard in the industry. The College Art Association (CAA) http://www.collegeart.org/ has established a set of legal and ethical guidelines for practitioners, enthusiasts, and interpreters of art. 

These are fine art quality prints made with archival pigment inks using an ultra high-resolution printer. These types of prints are becoming the new standard for fine art reproduction because of their longevity and exceptional quality. Pigment printing refers to use of pigments in various states to achieve brilliant and lasting work. Artists have painted with pigments for centuries with the purpose of creating fade resistant and saturated colors. . 

(Complete documentation of each print is included in the Certificate of Authenticity.) A Guide to the New York Print and Photograph Law http://www.collegeart.org/guidelines/photolaw.html serves as the foundation for these reproductions and is considered the gold standard in the industry. The College Art Association (CAA) http://www.collegeart.org/ has established a set of legal and ethical guidelines for practitioners, enthusiasts, and interpreters of art. 

A mixed-media pigment print is created using a combination of pigment inks, specially calibrated fine art digital printers, and serigraphy.

The combination of pigment inks and serigraphy is utilized to reproduce the brilliant depth and vibrancy of the original artworks.

(Complete documentation of each print is included in the Certificate of Authenticity.) A Guide to the New York Print and Photograph Law http://www.collegeart.org/guidelines/photolaw.html serves as the foundation for these reproductions and is considered the gold standard in the industry. The College Art Association (CAA) http://www.collegeart.org/ has established a set of legal and ethical guidelines for practitioners, enthusiasts, and interpreters of art. 

Ted Geisel embarked on an ingenious project in the early 1930s as he evolved from two-dimensional artworks to three-dimensional sculptures. What was most unusual for the mixed-media sculptures was the use of real animal parts, including beaks, antlers, and horns from deceased Springfield Zoo animals where Geisel’s father was superintendent. Today, Dr. Seuss’s sculptures are reproduced as hand-painted cast resin sculptures and are painstakingly prepared to accurately re-create the aesthetic brilliance of the originals. Like bronze castings, hand-painted cast resin works must go through an extensive and highly detailed process of modeling, molding, casting, sanding, and finishing. However, unlike bronze, once the sculpture casting is complete, the entire three-dimensional surface of the resin piece must then be delicately hand-painted to match the fidelity of Dr. Seuss’s original work. (Complete documentation of each sculpture is included in the Certificate of Authenticity.)

The creation of The Bronze Tribute Collection marks the first time intimate and large-scale bronze sculptures based upon Dr. Seuss’s work have ever been made available for private acquisition. These works, also available for public installation, range in size from fifteen-inch maquettes (small-scale studies) to eight-foot monumental works.

Artist Leo Rijn was selected as the inaugural sculptor for this project due to his prized work with some of today’s top talent in the world of film, entertainment, and the visual arts (including work with Tim Burton and Steven Speilberg). Rijn has been identified as one of today’s brightest sculpting talents because of his ability to breathe life into the written word and successfully transform two-dimensional ideas into three-dimensional works of art.

To create the bronze sculpture, first a rubber mold is made of the “original model” that will be used to make wax castings. Then a process called “gating” is implemented whereby wax rods are added to the wax model to facilitate the flow of molten bronze. The piece is then coated with several layers of ceramic which completely envelop the sculpture. The entire assembly is heated in a process called “burn-out.” The wax melts as it is heated and then poured out of tiny holes in the ceramic mold. The casting process then begins.  First, the solid bronze is heated to at least 2100 degrees Fahrenheit, transforming into a pourable liquid. The molten bronze is carefully poured into the ceramic molds and sits inside until it cools enough to be handled.  Using foundry tools, the ceramic mold is broken and the bronze sculpture is carefully removed. The sculpture is then cleaned and then, if the sculpture was cast in multiple parts, welded together.  Finally, a patina is applied. This is accomplished by heading the metal to varying degrees and painting a series of chemicals onto the surface. The chemicals, reacting to the heated metal, begin to alter the raw bronze’s color and ultimately create a surface rich in depth and color. (Complete documentation of each sculpture is included in the Certificate of Authenticity.)

(Note: Verbiage for the bronze sculpture process has been contributed by Elliot Gantz & Co., Inc.)