Matisse’s Garden

One day, the artist Henri Matisse cut a small bird from a piece of white paper. It was a simple shape, but he liked the way it looked and didn’t want to throw it away, so he pinned it to the wall of his apartment. But the bird looked lonely all by itself, so he cut out more shapes to join it. He didn’t know it then, but he had taken the first step in creating a new form of art, one that would soon transform the walls of his studio into a blooming, vibrant garden. In Matisse’s Garden, children will see how Matisse used nothing but paper and scissors to create simple shapes like squares, leaves and birds, and experimented with scraps of leftover paper and new colour combinations to create lush gardens on his studio walls.

Author Samantha Friedman co-organised The Museum of Modern Art’s 2014-2015 Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs exhibition. After years of researching Matisse she created this book as an opportunity to showcase his work in a different format that would appeal to children. The book features colourful cut-paper illustrations by Italian designer Cristina Amodeo and showcases eight artworks by Matisse, including three oversized reproductions on foldout pages.

Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Museum of Modern Art; Illustrated edition (October 7, 2014)
ISBN: 978-0870709104