Second Dr Seuss gallery outside US opens in capital

Wellington now has the world’s second-only Dr Seuss Art Gallery outside the United States at 82 Cable St.

The other is in Sydney.

The owners of the Wellington gallery are Ron Epskamp and Sharon Flanagan, who also own Exhibitions Gallery of Fine Art in Brandon St.

The new premises were officially opened last week by Te Papa chief executive Michael Houlihan, who praised the works to a full gallery of art enthusiasts.

Also present was Trevor Harvey, Australasian curator for The Art of Dr Seuss based in Sydney. Mr Harvey read out a message from Audrey Geisel, 90-year-old widow of Dr Seuss creator Theodore (Ted) Seuss Geisel.

She lives in La Jolla, California, and said she was delighted to be part of the latest venture and appreciated Mr Epskamp and Ms Flanagan’s strong commitment to Dr Seuss’ legacy in lithographs, serigraphs and sculpture reproduced from her husband’s original drawings and paintings.

Mrs Geisel also said in her greeting that, “I remember telling Ted that there would come a day when many of his paintings would be seen and he would thus share with his fans another facet of himself, his private self. That day has come. I am glad.’’

Ty Dallas, retail leasing specialist with Colliers, brokered the lease for the Dr Seuss Art Gallery.

Mr Dallas says the presentation of the works and branding of the gallery had to comply with strict guidelines from the Dr Seuss Enterprises’ office in Chicago.

The gallery is 150sq m, with a high stud and a wide frontage.

For more than 60 years, Dr Seuss illustrated more than 44 popular books and there is a limited edition of The Art of Dr Seuss.

At the opening of the gallery, Messrs Harvey and Epskamp unveiled a newly released limited edition digital pigment print on canvas called The Abduction of the Sabine Woman from a 1930s painting, the largest Ted Geisel ever painted.

Mr Epskamp was thrilled with the initial response to the Dr Seuss Gallery which was helped by an influx of visitors for the World of Wearable Arts.

The owners also plan to make the gallery available for Christmas functions.