ALLENTOWN, PA – The vibrant illustrations in National Geographic magazine have taken readers on expeditions of discovery for more than a century. An engrossing new exhibition at the Allentown Art Museum pays tribute to the artists of National Geographic who have enriched and expanded our comprehension of the world. “National Geographic: The Art of Exploration,” on view in the Museum’s Kress and Rodale galleries from January 27 through May 25, 2008, contains more than 100 original works of art, including many from the incomparable National Geographic archives.

The exhibition is organized into subject areas artists and scientists have explored throughout the magazine’s over 100-year history: Bugs, Birds, Beetles and Berries; Looking Inside; Defining the Dinosaur; Early Man and Mammals; Shipwreck!; Looking Beyond; From Big Bang to DNA; Peoples of the Past; Tombs and Treasures; America Before Columbus; American History; and The Artist’s Process. The exhibition will be complemented by a full menu of programming at the Museum for visitors of all ages including an Art After Hours event, an art appreciation course, an Elderhostel program, a gallery talk, the Museum’s annual Winter Festival, and Saturday afternoon public guided visits.

In conjunction with the exhibition, six Lehigh Valley cultural and science organizations are partnering with the Allentown Art Museum to present thematically-associated programming throughout the winter and beyond. The Baum School of Art will offer a Wildlife Illustration class for children and a Wildlife Plein Air Painting workshop for adults. The Da Vinci Science Center is offering a number of programs focused on related themes: Fossil Fun, Forensics, Cliff Wright-Sunflower’s “Dancin’ with the Honeybees,” and Space. “Archaeology of the Colonial Industrial Quarter,” an exhibit organized by Historic Bethlehem Partnership, will be on view January 31-December 31, 2008. The Lehigh Valley Zoo is featuring an interactive exhibit, “Wanyama Africa,” January 27-October 31, 2008. State Theatre Center for the Arts is presenting stories from Jungle Jack Hanna, along with his animal friends, on February 9, 2008, and the Wildlands Conservancy’s April 2008 Exploring Your World program will explore the often bizarre world of amphibians. Details on these events and contact information for the participating organizations follow.

Created by the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts (www.nrm.org), in collaboration with the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall in Washington, D.C., “National Geographic: The Art of Exploration” was organized by Howard E. Paine, who was art director of National Geographic magazine for 33 years, and Stephanie Plunkett, the Norman Rockwell Museum’s curator of illustration art. Site curator at the Allentown Art Museum is Dr. Lee A. Vedder, director of collections and exhibitions.

“Showcasing over 100 original paintings and drawings by a host of talented artists/illustrators, the exhibition is a kaleidoscope of color and fascinating content spanning centuries of scientific and anthropological exploration,” said Vedder. “The Museum is thrilled to be hosting this dynamic exhibition, where art and science coalesce so seamlessly.”

Artists have always played a major role in making the 117-year-old National Geographic magazine the publication that it is—a colorful, painstakingly researched guide to the fascinating world around us. Here, illustrators serve as trusted interpreters of complex information with images that astound and delight, allowing readers to see things that could never actually be observed without an artist’s intervention.

Using all available clues, artists and scientists work in tandem to describe how the world and its civilizations unfolded long before the existence of cameras—and even before the existence of man. Today, new discoveries sometimes solve ancient mysteries, and gifted illustrators continue to employ their vast knowledge and skill to interpret new data for the publication’s pages, revealing the wonders of nature and the glory of civilizations that flourished and faded long ago.

“The Art of Exploration honors National Geographic’s commitment to the art of illustration as a living medium with the power to communicate, teach and inspire. Each work of art is truly a treasure to behold,” said Plunkett.

Prior to publication, each piece of art commissioned by National Geographic goes through a lengthy series of stages, beginning with conceptual sketches, then detailed drawings and sometimes the creation of three-dimensional models that help the artist visualize the subject more clearly. Only after many revisions, following intensive scrutiny by a team of historians, scientists and editors, are finished paintings approved for publication.

To advance this process effectively, editors and art directors seek artists who are familiar with the subject at hand. They also look for individuals willing to produce art that is exacting in every detail—a sometimes daunting task. Opaque mediums, like oil, gouache and digital media are recommended, so that when a work receives its final review by experts (who examine everything from the number of buttons on a uniform to the rivets of an early aircraft), changes can more easily be made. Each artist’s commitment to the highest standards of accuracy and aesthetic excellence is revealed in their finished works, which bring the world of art, science and history together in exciting and unexpected ways.

The artists represented in the exhibition are : Robert Addison, Roy Andersen, William H. Bond, Paul Calle, Elie Cheverlange, Kinuko Y. Craft, Felipe Dávalos, John D. Dawson, Vincent Di Fate, Mary E. Eaton, Mick Ellison, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Hervey Garrett Smith, Robert Giusti, Louis S. Glanzman, John Gurche, James M. Gurney, Greg Harlin, Karel Havlicek, Herbert Michael Herget, Jane Hurd, Herb Kawainui Kane, Adrie Kennis, Alfons Kennis, W. Langdon Kihn, Christopher A. Klein, Howard Koslow, Charles R. Knight, Björn Landström, Birney Lettick, Arthur Lidov, Tom Lovell, Robert Magis, McGinnis, Davis Meltzer, Stanley Meltzoff, Pierre Mion, Thornton Oakley, Fred Otnes, Jerry Pinkney, Kazuhiko Sano, Richard Schlecht, Ned M. Seidler, Rosalie Seidler, John Sibbick, Noel Sickles, Burton Silverman, Henry Soulen, Peter Spier, Barron Storey, L. K. Townsend, Jack Unruh, Walter A. Weber, Andrew Wyeth, Newell Convers Wyeth and Hsien-Min Yang.

The National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall produces exhibits based on National Geographic projects and products, which are displayed at the Society’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and travel to museums around the world. The National Geographic Museum Web site is at www.nationalgeographic.com/museum . “National Geographic: The Art of Exploration” has been organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

For information and directions: Little more than 90 minutes west of Manhattan and one hour north of Philadelphia, the Allentown Art Museum is located at 31 North 5th Street in Allentown, PA. Please visit our Web site at www.allentownartmuseum.org , or call 610-432-4333, ext. 10, to learn more about the Museum’s exhibitions and programs and to find directions from your location.