The Delaware Art Museum (DelArt) will present "Imprinted: Illustrating Race," an exhibition assembled by the Norman Rockwell Museum and co-curated by Robyn Phillips-Pendleton of the University of Delaware. Opening October 18, 2025, the show features over 200 works originally commissioned for newspapers, magazines, books, trade cards, posters, packaging, and advertising, tracing how illustration reflected and shaped perceptions of race in the United States from the 19th century onward. It places Norman Rockwell’s Civil Rights–era images alongside works by artists such as Faith Ringgold, Emory Douglas, Howard Pyle, and Loveis Wise, highlighting both harmful racial stereotypes and the efforts of artists and publishers who used illustration to challenge those narratives.
The exhibition matters because it confronts a complex and often overlooked history of visual culture, examining how widely circulated imagery has both reinforced and resisted racial stereotypes. It is part of an institutional exchange with the Norman Rockwell Museum, which will host DelArt’s "Jazz Age Illustration" from November 2025 to April 2026, demonstrating a model for creative collaboration that enhances public engagement with art and community dialogue about representation.