Childhood and Modernist Art

This paper focuses on exhibitions of children’s books held in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands from the turn of the 20th century. These exhibitions displayed children’s books, toys, and mural posters created by renowned artists who were inspired by modernist art movements. It is argued that these exhibitions and the accompanying discussions had a great effect in changing attitudes towards children’s literature and children’s culture. Many artists and pedagogues, belonging to the British Arts Craft Movement, the German and Austrian “Kunsterziehungsbewegung”, and the Dutch “Kunst aan het Volk”, emphasized the importance of early art education on the child’s developing sense of aesthetic perception. These efforts undoubtedly paved the way for the emergence of Avant-garde children’s books in the 1920s and 1930s.