Fletcher and the Knobby Boys: Illustrations by Harry Devlin

On the occasion of Rutgers’ 250^th anniversary and the Zimmerli’s 50th anniversary, this exhibition celebrates the work and contributions of the New Jersey artist Harry Devlin (1918–2001), an important figure in establishing the museum’s collection of original illustrations for children’s literature. On view are Devlin’s drawings for two of his early stories, The Knobby Boys to the Rescue (1965) and How Fletcher Was Hatched (1969). These imaginative tales explore common childhood fears and emotions through animal characters who work together to help friends in need. His lovingly rendered landscapes provide beautifully detailed natural settings for the adventures undertaken by intrepid animals, including a dog, a beaver, an otter, a bear, a fox, a raccoon, and a crow. 

Born in Jersey City and working primarily in Mountainside, Harry Devlin established his artistic career as a cartoonist for the weekly magazines Collier’s and Saturday Home News during the 1940s. He and his wife Dorothy Wende (1918–2002), a painter and writer, first collaborated on a comic strip in the 1950s, based on the antics of their seven children. That success prompted the Devlins to collaborate on storybooks. Beginning in 1963, they published twenty-six children’s books, many still in print. Around 1970, Harry Devlin joined the newly established Rutgers Advisory Committee on Children’s Literature (now the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature). In 1988, the couple donated more than one hundred of Harry’s original drawings for children’s books to the Zimmerli’s renowned collection of works on paper. 

Organized by Christine Giviskos, Curator of Prints, Drawings, and European Art