The Burka Collection

Wilmington-based artist Frank E. Schoonover (1877-1972) created over two thousand book illustrations throughout his career, including the cover art for such well-known stories as Swiss Family Robinson (1921), Gulliver’s Travels (1921) and Treasure Island (1921). This exhibition traces Schoonover’s design steps, beginning with preparatory photographs, drawings and sketches for illustrations and ending with paintings and book covers that he created for best-selling children’s literature. Inventing Illustration – generously loaned to the Biggs Museum by the late Dr. Edward Burka – is the perfect accompaniment to Winslow Homer From Poetry to Fiction—The Engraved Works.