Original drawings for the first illustrated edition of Thomas Wolfe’s novel “Look Homeward, Angel” are on display through Sept. 30 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The exhibition by UNC’s Center for the Study of the American South features more than 50 pen-and-brush drawings by artist Douglas Gorsline (1913-1985). The free public display is open from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursdays at the home of the center, the Love House and Hutchins Forum, at 410 E. Franklin Street.
A free public opening reception for the exhibit will be from 5-7 p.m. Aug. 27 at the center. North Carolina actor Jan Hensley will perform dramatic readings of scenes from “Look Homeward, Angel.” Local musicians Michael Holland, Katherine Rogers Simonsen and James Wallace will perform songs mentioned in Wolfe’s novel.
The reception will be in conjunction with the North Carolina Literary Festival, to take place at UNC Sept. 10-13.
The drawings were loaned to the center by the North Carolina Collection at UNC’s Wilson Library. Rarely exhibited, the drawings were commissioned in the 1940s by the Charles Scribner’s Sons publishing house for use in its first illustrated edition of “Look Homeward, Angel,” issued in 1947. The novel had won critical and popular acclaim upon its initial publication in 1929.
The assignment marked Gorsline’s first foray into book illustration, which would become a significant aspect of his artistic career. The Rochester, N.Y., artist drew for Sports Illustrated magazine and went on to illustrate more than 50 books, including “The Compleat Angler” and Clement Moore’s classic, “The Night Before Christmas.”
For more information, contact Reid Johnson at CSAS@email.unc.edu or (919) 962-5665.
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589