A Winnie the Pooh Exhibition is Coming To Atlanta

A unique exhibition celebrating the 92-year history and enduring appeal of Winnie the Pooh, “the world’s most famous bear,” is making its way to Georgia. On June 3, 2018, Atlanta's High Museum of Art will open “Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic,” a new exhibit that has been curated by London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

As Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) reports, the 200-plus items on display will include original Winnie the Pooh illustrations from the 1920s, as well as photographs, memorabilia, first-edition books, handwritten correspondence between author A.A. Milne and illustrator E.H. Shepard, and a 1929 recording of Milne reading aloud.

The first Winnie the Pooh character portraits drawn by Shepard will be on view, as will replicas of the stuffed animals—belonging to Milne’s son, Christopher—that inspired the story’s characters. There will even be Winnie the Pooh sake cups made for the Walt Disney Corporation and a Pooh LEGO set.

“This exhibition brings together the most important objects in Pooh history to reveal why the lovable bear and his friends remain so compelling today," Virginia Sweeney, co-presenting curator for the exhibition, told GPB.

“Winnie-the-Pooh” isn't the first time the High Museum has paid tribute to a popular children’s book author or artist. The works of Ashley Bryan (Freedom Over Me), Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar), Mo Willems (The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?), and Jerry Pinkney (The Lion & the Mouse) have previously been put on display.

Free admission will be granted to visitors on three dates—June 10, July 8, and August 12—and special programming will be arranged on those days. Running in conjunction with the exhibit, Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre will host showings of Winnie-the-Pooh, a musical based on Milne's stories, from June 7 to July 8.