Hats honor life of Seuss

A touring art exhibition puts the spotlight on Dr. Seuss’ hat collection

The St. Louis Park community has the opportunity to see the national touring art exhibition of Dr. Seuss’ hat collection. Audrey Geisel, Dr. Seuss’ widow, has opened up the collection to go on tour. It will be at the Jean Stephen Galleries in St. Louis Park from Oct. 11-26.

Steve Danko owns Jean Stephen Galleries along with his wife Jean. They have owned the gallery since 1987.

“We recently moved here (SLP) from downtown Minneapolis on Nicollet Mall,” Danko said.

Danko said the gallery has hosted the display of hats in years past, and they have enjoyed the experience.

“We’ve represented the Seuss estate for fifteen years and we will continue to show Dr. Seuss art,” Danko said. “We have done a number of shows on Dr. Seuss over time, and when we found out this (show) was a possibility this year, we were very anxious because Seuss was an interesting character.”

Danko said there are about one hundred and seventy hats in Seuss’ collection and they give insight into his life.

“The unique thing about this exhibit is that it gives you a chance to explore some of the inner life of Dr. Seuss,” Danko said. “His widow wanted people to get a sense of the man who was really behind it all.”

Sophomore Jonah Kupritz said he thinks the exhibition is a great opportunity to educate the public..

“I think that it’s a good idea to put it on an exhibition because it will educate kids and adults throughout the country about the author of the extremely popular children’s books,” Kupritz said.

This year, the tour of the hats celebrates the 75th anniversary of the book by Dr. Seuss The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. The collection will be available at Jean Stephen Galleries located at 4811 Excelsior Blvd., St Louis Park. The gallery’s hours are 10am – 6pm. Monday through Saturday.