Never Abandon Imagination

"Considering all he has accomplished and the dreams he hopes to fulfill in the decades to come, DiTerlizzi declares his goal remains simple: 'to inspire children to use their imagination through stories and pictures.'"

—Jesse Kowalski, Curator, Norman Rockwell Museum

Never Abandon Imagination

The Fantastical Art of Tony DiTerlizzi

Never Abandon Imagination: The Fantastical Art of Tony DiTerlizzi is the first museum retrospective of one of the world’s most respected fantasy artists and author/illustrator of children’s books. The exhibit provides a glimpse into the story of a young artist who was encouraged early on, wouldn’t take no for an answer, worked extremely hard to impress art directors and his audience; and then at the peak of his career in fantasy illustration shifted gears into writing and illustrating children’s books where he found even greater success – all while maintaining a sense of youthfulness and humility.

Published: November 2017
Format: Softcover, 84 pages
Author: Jesse Kowalski, Mo Willems, Justin Chanda, Ari Berk, Charles Vess, William Stout
Publisher: Norman Rockwell Museum
8610Never Abandon Imagination Look Inside

Praise

“I met Tony during the making of Spiderwick Chronicles and his work has enthralled me ever since. Tony’s imagination holds no bounds. His creatures are whimsical and otherworldly in the best sense, and his flair for stories captivate, charm and transport all of us to new and wondrous worlds.”
—Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm

“There is a deep, optimistic humanity to Tony’s work, an amalgam of the creativity of a kid day-dreaming pretend worlds into existence, the perfectionism of a determined dad assembling a bicycle on Christmas Eve, and the loving gaze of a watchful mom. DiTerlizzi’s work resonates because he is looking at us—really looking at us.”
—Mo Willems

“Lucky us! Tony DiTerlizzi is not from a hundred years ago. This modern master is right here with us today--still producing, still dazzling, and still inspiring us with his vast store of tales, his abundant talents, and his sly, funny and loving spirit.”
—William Stout

“...that vivid, individual vision that can and will draw us to a particular artist's work and cause us to wholeheartedly embrace it. Such an artist, as you can see from this exhibition, is Tony DiTerlizzi.”—Charles Vess

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Goblins & Fairies & Wizards (Plus a Dragon)
The Pen & Ink Drawings of Tony DiTerlizzi
Dungeon Drawings Portfolios
Never Abandon Imagination
WondLa Sketchbooks
Album per Schizzi
Spiderwick: From Page To Screen
Ten Imaginary Years (1993-2003)
DiTerlizzi Sketchbook
Illustrated Stories For Christmas

Never Abandon Imagination Tony DiTerlizzi: Never abandon imagination.

Imagination is a world of possibility that exists within each of us. It is what makes us uniquely human. It is our creative fingerprint that touches and influences the world around us. Imagination is essential to art and science; to innovation and prosperity. It gives us hope, calls us to action and leads to change.

Whether it’s fairies, dragons, robots or aliens, all of my children’s book characters are siblings born of my imagination – an imagination strengthened through years of encouragement from family, teachers and friends. While so many others abandoned it during their transition from childhood to adulthood, I fiercely held onto mine, hoping for a day when I could share it to inspire the next generation of dreamers. Innovators. World changers.

Imagination empowers us to envision and create a reality of what could be. We must hold it dear, foster it and never abandon it.