"A touching rumination on public art's potential to provoke personal epiphany."
—Publishers Weekly
"A serene collection of some of North America's most famous museums. Suitable for all ages and great for finding new places to visit."
—Library Journal
"A joyous book featuring the greatest museums in the world."
—Steve Martin, actor, comedian, and author
"A beautifully written and painted love letter to the museums of North America."
—Max Hollein, director and CEO, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
"Bob knows how to make a book come alive. And the range of his artistic taste is very impressive. Where else would you find the Museum of Fine Arts Boston alongside the Spam Museum?"
—Sir Michael Palin, actor, comedian, author, and former member of Monty Python
"Bob Eckstein is a national treasure."
—David Plotz, CEO of City Cast, former CEO of Atlas Obscura
“A serene collection of some of North America’s most famous museums. Suitable for all ages and great for finding new places to visit.” —Library Journal "A joyous book featuring the greatest museums in the world.”—Steve Martin, actor, comedian, and author
“A beautifully written and painted love letter to the museums of North America.” —Max Hollein, director and CEO, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
“Bob knows how to make a book come alive. And the range of his artistic taste is very impressive. Where else would you find the Museum of Fine Arts Boston alongside the Spam Museum?” —Sir Michael Palin, actor, comedian, author, and former member of Monty Python
“Bob Eckstein is a national treasure.” —David Plotz, CEO of City Cast, former CEO of Atlas Obscura
01/01/2024
This title written and illustrated by award-winning cartoonist Eckstein (The Complete Book of Cat Names) is a mix of modern firsthand accounts from museum curators and visitors, mixed with the histories of individual museums in North America (mostly in the United States). It features Eckstein's illustrations of the museums' architecture, collections, and galleries. The institutions will be instantly recognizable (the Museum of Modern Art; the National Portrait Gallery) even as the images are in the artist's signature style. This is not an encyclopedia of museums or even a list of the best. Instead, it is a small sampling of wonderful museums that readers of this book will be compelled to visit; those who have already perused these sites might feel nostalgic. For browsers, the book organizes the museums by type ("Academia & Science"; "Culture"; "Historic Homes"). Each institution is covered in a page or two, delivering a quick, light, but informative read alongside the book's calming artwork. VERDICT A serene collection of some of North America's most famous museums. Suitable for all ages and great for finding new places to visit.—Elizabeth Chandler