Peanuts in Wonderland

November 8, 2014 to April 26, 2015
Downstairs Changing Gallery

“‘What is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?'”
Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Charles M. Schulz kept more than one copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll in his library. Beginning in January 1958, and for many years thereafter, he featured the story in Peanuts. Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Sally all read the book aloud, and Snoopy liked to show off his disappearing “Cheshire Beagle trick.”

The Charles M. Schulz Museum celebrates the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in this exhibition, which features 11 original Peanuts strips, Archie and Pogo artwork; and explores Alice in illustration; comic books, and animation.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has inspired hundreds of creative retellings, and an untold number of cartoon derivatives. From Walt Disney to Charles M. Schulz, cartoonists have explored imaginative realms informed by Carroll’s masterwork. With Alice appearing in such popular comics as Archie, Superman, and Raggedy Ann, Schulz joined a long line of cartoonists allured by the whimsy of Wonderland. Artists continue to see Dodgson as their muse, creating cartoons that contribute to the longstanding graphic history of his classic manuscript. As Wonderland turns 150, the story still rouses curious minds, recalling images of a fantasy realm where animals talk and hidden worlds are to be found down rabbit holes.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by: