HAGERSTOWN, Md. — For generations of children, Arthur has been a familiar friend: the aardvark in round glasses who navigates school, family, friendship, mistakes and the everyday challenges of growing up.
This fall, visitors can step beyond the television screen and the pages of the books to discover the original artwork behind the beloved character in “Believe in Yourself: What We Learned from Arthur, The Art of Marc Brown,” opening Oct. 24 at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts and on view through Feb. 28, 2027.
The exhibition explores the imagination, humor and creative process of author and illustrator Marc Brown, whose childhood experiences became the foundation for Arthur’s world.
Brown has recalled that in 1975, after the college where he was teaching closed and he found himself suddenly unemployed, he began telling his young son a bedtime story about an aardvark who was worried about his nose. That story became “Arthur’s Nose,” published in 1976, and marked the beginning of a character who eventually appeared in books, television and countless childhood memories.
The hard-working museum staff has created an inviting space for families and friends to experience Brown’s work together. Upon entering the gallery, visitors will encounter an enlarged replica of Brown’s book “Believe in Yourself.”
Tucked behind the oversized book is a dedicated reading nook, where visitors can settle in and explore copies of the books represented throughout the exhibition. Designed as a place to pause, read and share stories together, the reading nook encourages visitors of all ages to connect not only with Brown’s artwork, but with one another.
Museum Executive Director Sarah Hall said, “We love to periodically bring in exhibitions that are particularly family-friendly and support educational partnerships with Washington County Public Schools and the Washington County Free Library—and this exhibition is a perfect example.
“I know these fall months and the holiday period are great times for extended families to spend time together, and we hope you all make the museum part of your family celebrations. I know I will be bringing my son to the exhibition and reminiscing! Stay tuned to learn more about the terrific programs we will have planned in partnership with our friends at the library.”
Brown has described his own third-grade classroom as the place where much of Arthur’s imagined world began. His characters were inspired by classmates, family members and teachers, helping give Arthur and his friends the recognizable personalities and everyday concerns that have made them enduring characters.
At the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, visitors will see how those characters developed through Brown’s original illustrations and preliminary artwork. Among the exhibition highlights is “D.W. Rides Again” (1993), created with marker, watercolor, gouache and colored pencil. The artwork captures Arthur’s younger sister in one of her many adventures and reflects one of the recurring ideas throughout the exhibition: sometimes the only way to learn something new is to keep trying.
Another work, “Arthur Goes to Camp” (thumbnail book layout) (1982), offers a behind-the-scenes look at Brown’s process. Before creating finished illustrations, Brown produced small “thumbnail” drawings to work out how images and text would come together across the pages of a book. The marker-and-pencil layout allows visitors to see an early stage of the creative process that would ultimately lead to the finished story.
The exhibition also follows Arthur beyond his books and into his remarkable television career. “Arthur Promotional Art for PBS Series Launch” (1998), created in pen and watercolor, represents Brown’s work surrounding the transition of Arthur from the page to the screen. WGBH-TV and PBS approached Brown in 1994 about adapting the books for television, with the goal of using animation to encourage children to read. The series premiered in 1996 and became a major part of Arthur’s cultural legacy.
Seasonal favorites are represented as well, including artwork from “Arthur’s Halloween” and “Arthur’s Christmas.” Brown’s preliminary thumbnail layouts for these stories are displayed alongside finished artwork, offering another opportunity to see how an illustrator moves from an initial idea to a completed picture-book illustration.
In “Arthur’s Christmas,” Brown combines marker, watercolor, gouache and colored pencil to bring Arthur and D.W.’s holiday adventure to life.
Arthur’s world is also one where everyday experiences can carry larger lessons. In “Arthur Turns Green” (2011), Brown’s familiar cast tackles environmental responsibility by encouraging children to consider the ways their everyday choices can make a difference.
Other works explore themes of friendship, responsibility, generosity, honesty, perseverance and being true to oneself. These lessons are not presented as grand pronouncements, but as part of the ordinary situations that make Arthur’s stories feel familiar to children and adults alike.
While Arthur is the best-known character in Brown’s career, “Believe in Yourself” also looks beyond Arthur to reveal the breadth of his work as an illustrator. The exhibition includes artwork from projects such as “Wild About Books,” “Little Shop of Monsters,” “Hand Rhymes,” “If All the Animals Came Inside” and other publications, along with personal artwork and a self-portrait. Together, these works offer a fuller picture of the artist behind one of children’s literature’s most recognizable characters.
For adults who grew up with Arthur, the exhibition offers an opportunity to revisit a character who may feel like an old friend. For parents and grandparents, it provides a chance to share those memories with a new generation. And for children discovering Arthur for the first time, the exhibition offers a glimpse into the imagination and artistic work that transformed a simple bedtime story into a world shared by millions.
At the heart of the exhibition is Brown’s belief that creating stories is a process of experimentation, revision, and persistence. He has written about the many erasers and mistakes that are an inevitable part of his process and has sometimes created as many as 30 drafts of a story before presenting it to a publisher. “Arthur’s Nose” itself underwent six months of revisions before its publication in 1976.
That message is perhaps one of the most fitting lessons to take from Arthur: creativity does not have to be perfect to be meaningful. Sometimes it begins with a funny idea, a childhood memory, a mistake or simply the decision to try again.
Opening Day: Arthur’s Costume Party
Saturday, Oct. 24, from 1–4 p.m.
Presented in partnership with the Washington County Free Library, the free family celebration will welcome Arthur and his friends to Hagerstown with treats, storytime, and other activities inspired by the exhibition.
Children and families are encouraged to dress as their favorite Arthur characters or come in their Halloween costumes.
As Arthur would say, having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card—and an art museum in your own backyard!
Admission to the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts is always free.
About Marc Brown
Marc Brown is the author and illustrator who created Arthur Read and the world of characters surrounding him. Beginning with “Arthur’s Nose” in 1976, Brown developed a body of work that has entertained generations of children and adults through picture books, television and numerous other illustration projects.
