I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders celebrates the inventive, visionary work of artist Walter Wick. Renowned worldwide for his iconic I SPY and Can You See What I See? series, Wick has captivated readers across cultures and generations with his award-winning magazine illustrations and books. His immersive large-scale photographs feature miniature worlds, optical illusions, search-and-find games, and puzzle challenges, reflecting his unique approach to layered visual storytelling. Meticulously designed, hand built, and assembled, his complex images bring together the realms of art, craft, and technology. Through Wick’s lens, everyday objects become portals to imagined landscapes and intricate, impossible worlds, inviting viewers of all ages to explore every corner of visual stories that transcend age and time.Presenting the largest survey of Wick’s work to date, this exhibition encourages close looking and discovery, reminding us to access childhood wonder.
I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders
August 28, 2026 – January 3, 2027
Walter Wick (American, born Hartford, Connecticut, 1953), City Blocks, from I SPY Fantasy, 1994, pigmented inkjet photograph, New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick. © 1994 Walter Wick.
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Yikes!, from I SPY Fantasy, 1994
Each gravity-defying, free-floating object in this photograph is attached to an aluminum wire stem connected to either the checkerboard surface or a clear sheet of glass. Wick built the scene on a flat surface before attempting to suspend it with the wire.
Yikes!, from I SPY Fantasy, 1994
Pigmented inkjet photograph
New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick
Sky High, from Can You See What I See? Dream Machine, 2003
Sky High represents an important moment in the dream of a child whose story begins and ends in a cluttered bedroom. Toys, cardboard boxes, party favors, and deli containers—the raw materials of the child’s creative projects—are seen here at night, amplified to epic proportions, as only dreams could allow.
Sky High, from Can You See What I See? Dream Machine, 2003
Pigmented inkjet photograph
New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick
City Blocks, from I SPY Fantasy, 1994
City Blocks, from I SPY Fantasy, 1994
Pigmented inkjet photograph
New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick
Floating Marbles, 1980
Floating Marbles, 1980
Pigmented inkjet photograph
New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick
Levers, Ramps, and Pulleys, from I SPY School Days, 1995
I spy a marble, a clothespin clamp,
FUN, two keys, and a ruler ramp;
Three helmets, a hand, a hammer, a heart,
A checker, a chair, and a chalkboard chart.
Wick made this contraption, which also works like a maze, out of blocks and toys. The maze starts at a hand pointing to a blue marble, where a chain reaction also begins. I SPY writer and cocreator Jean Marzollo wrote a riddle that highlights the working parts of the Rube Goldberg–like machine (a machine that does a simple task in a comically overcomplicated way).
Levers, Ramps, and Pulleys, from I SPY School Days, 1995
Pigmented inkjet photograph
New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick
Puss in Boots, from Can You See What I See? Once Upon a Time, 2006
Can you see what I see?
. . . the Marquis’ carriage,
a white-plumed hat,
an ogre’s frown,
and one clever cat!
Puss in Boots, like all the pictures from Can You See What I See? Once Upon a Time, is based on a classic children’s story by 1600s French author Charles Perrault. Readers familiar with the tale will recognize plot elements in the picture’s details, such as the lion and mouse, who played a key role in Puss’s trickery, sitting on top of gate posts.
Puss in Boots, from Can You See What I See? Once Upon a Time, 2006
Pigmented inkjet photograph
New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick
All Aboard, from Can You See What I See? Toyland Express, 2010
All Aboard, from Can You See What I See? Toyland Express, 2010
Pigmented inkjet photograph
New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick
Flatland, from Can You See What I See? Hidden Wonders!, 2021
Can you see what I see?
. . . a little blue chair,
a clothespin, 2 clocks,
a flower, and 3 large
flat paper blocks!
Familiar blocks and toys mix together here in a way that seems to be impossible for three-dimensional space.
Flatland, from Can You See What I See? Hidden Wonders!, 2021
Pigmented inkjet photograph
New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick
Clouds, from I SPY Fantasy, 2021
Clouds, from I SPY Fantasy, 2021
Pigmented inkjet photograph
New Britain Museum of American Art, gift of Walter Wick and Linda Cheverton Wick
Related
September 5, 2026 | 2–3 p.m.
Go behind the scenes with artist Walter Wick, in conversation with organizing curator Andrew Westover. Together, the speakers will explore Wick’s creative process, which is on display in the exhibition I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders.
This exhibition is organized by the New Britain Museum of American Art.
Premier Exhibition Series Sponsor
Premier Exhibition Series Supporters
Sarah and Jim Kennedy
Major Exhibition Series Supporter
The Fay S. and W. Barrett Howell Family Foundation
Major Exhibition Series Sponsor
Benefactor Exhibition Series Supporters
Robin and Hilton Howell
Ambassador Exhibition Series Supporters
Loomis Foundation
Sara and Paul Steinfeld
Mrs. Harriet H. Warren
Contributing Exhibition Series Supporters
Mary and Neil Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Baxter Jones
Megan and Garrett Langley
Margot and Danny McCaul
Wade A. Rakes II and Nicholas Miller
Louise Sams and Jerome Grilhot
Lisa Cannon Taylor and Chuck Taylor
Generous support is also provided by
Alfred and Adele Davis Exhibition Endowment Fund
Anne Cox Chambers Exhibition Fund
Barbara Stewart Exhibition Fund
Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund
Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment Fund
The Fay and Barrett Howell Exhibition Fund
Forward Arts Foundation Exhibition Endowment Fund
Helen S. Lanier Endowment Fund
John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Exhibition Endowment Fund
Katherine Murphy Riley Special Exhibition Endowment Fund
Margaretta Taylor Exhibition Fund
RJR Nabisco Exhibition Endowment Fund