The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art opened in 2002 on 7.5 acres at the southern edge of Hampshire College, founded by the author and illustrator Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) and his wife Barbara Morrison Carle. It is the first full-scale museum in the United States dedicated to the art of picture books.
The permanent collection holds thousands of original illustrations by American and international artists; rotating gallery shows feature one illustrator at a time. An on-site art studio runs drop-in workshops for families throughout the day.
Visiting
The museum is open Wednesday through Friday, 10am–4pm; Saturday, 10am–5pm; and Sunday, noon–5pm. It is closed Mondays, Tuesdays, and major holidays, with occasional first-Thursday evening hours from November through June. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for youth ages 1–18, students, teachers, and seniors; members are free. Tickets include access to the studio and all current exhibits. The museum participates in Massachusetts’ Card to Culture program.
A café and gift shop run on the same schedule; the museum’s theater screens short animated adaptations several times a day.