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Rowayton Historical Society Celebrates 'Harold And The Purple Crayon'

NORWALK, Conn. -- The Rowayton Historical Society is hosting a new exhibit that tells the stories of "Harold and the Purple Crayon." 

David Johnson Leisk, better known as Crockett Johnson, author of the "Harold and the Purple Crayon" series will be celebrated at the special exhibit from the Rowayton Historical Society.

David Johnson Leisk, better known as Crockett Johnson, author of the "Harold and the Purple Crayon" series will be celebrated at the special exhibit from the Rowayton Historical Society.

Photo Credit: Courtesy Jackie Curtis

The society will host a preview reception of the exhibit at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at the Pinkney House at 177 Rowayton Ave. The exhibit will officially open to the public on Sunday, May 25. 

"These delightful picture book classics are imaginative and joyful and are now part of a new exhibit at the Rowayton Historical Society entitled Rowayton and the Purple Crayon: Celebrating the Creative Culture of 1950s Rowayton. Designed to inform and delight visitors of all ages, the exhibition will feature the work of Jim Flora, Ruth Krauss, Crockett Johnson (born David Johnson Leisk), and Maurice Sendak," said a press release.

The four authors, also Rowayton residents, will be celebrated during the exhibit. 

“We are pleased to invite the community to preview this extraordinary new exhibit, which includes exciting loans from the archives and special collections at the University of Connecticut’s Thomas J. Dodd Research Center,” said Wendell Livingston, president of the Rowayton Historical Society.

“Attendees at the preview reception will be among the first to see priceless original art and sketches, book dummies, correspondence, manuscripts and more, while learning about fascinating private lives of these renowned artists,” said exhibit curator Lesley Korzennik.

Tickets for the exhibit are on sale for $25 per person and are available by emailing info@rowaytonhistoricalsociety.org.

In connection with the exhibition, the Society will present a series of exhibit related programs starting Sunday, May 18, with a lecture titled "Radicalism, 'Red Scares', and McCarthyism" with professor Elliot Kalner for an examination of the recurring pathology of fear, prejudice, and paranoia that have blighted our historical landscape, including Rowayton, from World War I through the 1950s and beyond, according to the release.

The lecture starts at 4 p.m. at the Rowayton Community Center at 33 Highland Ave. 

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