Dr. Seuss has such a unique style with timeless characters, so taking a peek at his “private” work that explores mature themes with his signature archetypal characters is fascinating. He uses night as a background in “The Stag at Eve,” which experiments with a different color palate. There are some creepy sexual pieces like Untitled on page 24. His wooden taxidermy is so interesting. The cats, of course, stand out. “Cat from the Wrong Side of the Tracks” is a sort of Wario to The Cat in the Hat. My favorites, though, are “Self-Portrait of the Artist Worrying About His Next Book” and “I Dreamed I Was a Doorman at the Hotel del Coronado.”

Great coffee table book for anyone that loves Dr Seuss and who would like to see his fine art side.

As with Dr. Seuss in general, the art is amazing and conjures up the story visually. It has so much in it that echoes why I love art. One piece tells a whole story and, as with some artists, can tell different stories based on the different viewers.

At this point I think it's exceptionally rare to meet someone who HASN'T heard of Dr. Seuss, the author and illustrator who created dozens of weird but charming children's books (some with clever social and political commentary that kids won't get but adults will appreciate), as well as films, political cartoons, newspaper comics, and much more. It seems, however, that Theodor Geisel, the man behind the Dr. Seuss moniker, was a painter in his private life, creating pictures purely for his own pleasure rather than to show or market to the world at large. This collection, while by no means comprehensive, gives us a glimpse at the "secret art" of this legendary creator, art that maintains his trademark style yet contains more depth, darkness, and strangeness than his children's work ever could.

These pieces range from simple line drawings to boldly colored oil paintings to even strange combinations of sculpture and taxidermy. The subject matter is occasionally mundane, such as scenes of daily life in a South American village, but often far weirder than even the weirdest of his kids' books. There's religious allegory (one painting depicts his version of the Tower of Babel), self-depreciating self-portraits, and even some nudity (albeit nothing worse than you'd find in your average classical painting). And as evidenced by the cover, his perennial favorite -- cats -- show up with frequent regularity, including one painting that's nothing BUT cats! (In one of the two forewords, Geisel's widow talks about this painting, "A Plethora of Cats," and how it remained unfinished to his dying day because he could always find room to add just one more cat...)

Aside from Ms. Geisel's foreword, there's also a touching introduction by Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are. It helps give a little context to Seuss' works (inasmuch as any of these paintings have context) and is a thoughtful send-off to a legend of children's literature.

While certainly not for children or casual readers, "The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss" is an eye-opening collection, and good for fans of Seuss' more obscure work or anyone who appreciates offbeat art in general. This is a look into another side of the creator of the Grinch, the Cat in the Hat, the Lorax, Horton the Elephant, and other beloved characters, and a quirky but fun collection of paintings.

This book is interesant

Why someone would paint and sculpt these images totally escapes me, but the world must thank the dr. for doing so.

Interesting to see his art outside of his children's books. I wonder where he got his ideas and what influenced his style.

This is funny, interesting, and rather wonderful. And a curiosity to boot, naturally.

I think this is a great art book for adults -- not that children wouldn't like or understand it, but that it is best understood by adults, to whom it is comprehensible even without context..

In addition to what are mostly clever, entertaining, aesthetically-pleasing paintings, there are also some of his sculptures of wacky fantastical mounted animals, which are delightful even on the page. I remember the first time I saw one (collected elsewhere, likely the internetz) and I immediately thought that I would like to own one. I bet a lot of people have that reaction.

I like that this book is about as long as a Dr. Seuss book.

I am glad the New Orleans Public Library has it.

My only criticism is there are not more paintings in this book.

fascinating. the grown up real life art of dr. suess is a combination of distorted reality and the childhood stories that are forever in the back of your mind. ive had this book for years, but just took it out to look through again and lo, what a world.

and i only say "lo" on very rare occasions. promise.

Dr. Seuss is known for his children’s books, and this book explores some of his other art done for a more grown-up eye. I enjoyed this book. You can see stylistic similarities with his more well-known art but with different subject matter and in a different context. I love the humor and creativity.

Many of the pieces are thoughtful and intricate, telling a story with humor and using a color scheme for mood. Some of the works made me think of Dali or Escher. I also sensed some political themes and wondered what Geisel would have been like as a political cartoonist. It’s striking sitting here in 2022 to think that some of the earlier pieces were made almost 100 years ago. A handful of images may be inappropriate for children and some adults.

Aside from the two brief introductions, this book is simply images of paintings and drawings with titles, year (if known), and medium. There are a few pictures of sculptures, too. A short book, you could probably page through it in a library, but I’m glad to own it so I can return to those worlds.

Wouldn’t you like to know what he was thinking while creating these pictures!