Featuring more than 80 works spanning 50 years of Wick’s career
“I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders”
Aug. 28, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027
ATLANTA, April 15, 2026 — Renowned worldwide for his iconic “I SPY!” and “Can You See What I See?” children’s book series, Walter Wick (American, born 1953) is one of the nation’s most famous photographic illustrators. Throughout his decades-long career, his award-winning books have captivated readers across cultures and generations, combining art, craft and technology to inspire discovery and wonder. This fall, the High Museum of Art will present “I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders” (Aug. 28, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027), the largest survey of Wick’s work to date, which will celebrate his unique approach to storytelling through beloved images, rarely seen works and three-dimensional models. The exhibition will be the latest in the High’s popular series celebrating the art and authors of children’s books.
“Since we started our children’s book series in 2013, we’ve featured a wide range of artists who have inspired generations through their stories and illustrations, but this exhibition is the first to feature photography as the primary medium,” said Rand Suffolk, the High’s director. “Wick’s photographs are windows to other worlds, bringing the viewer into his wild imagination and encouraging deep and long looking, a skill that young readers can translate to all interactions with art.”
Wick’s whimsical worlds have enchanted people of all ages since 1992, when his first children’s book series, “I SPY,” found its way onto bookshelves in millions of American households. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Wick began his career in commercial photography. He became enamored with studio techniques and aspired to represent concepts such as the perception of space and time in photographs, experimenting with mirrors, time exposures, photo composites and other tricks. After moving to New York City, he began creating cover illustrations and puzzle designs for “Games” magazine. That work inspired his first photographic search-and-find book in the “I SPY” series, “A Book of Picture Riddles.” Over the past 35 years, he has published more than 26 titles.
Through Wick’s lens, everyday objects become portals to imagined landscapes and intricate, impossible worlds, inviting viewers to explore visual stories that transcend age and time. The exhibition will delve into themes that have long fascinated Wick, including miniature worlds, optical illusions, “I spy” games, puzzle challenges and the wonders of science. Beloved works such as “Yikes!,” “Clouds” and “City Blocks” from “I SPY Fantasy” will join rarely seen work, including his early photographs of optical illusions in nature, along with numerous three-dimensional models upon which his photographs are based. The exhibition will also feature reading areas where visitors can enjoy perusing Wick’s books.
“I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders” is organized by the New Britain Museum of American Art, which in 2015 acquired a collection of 84 of Wick’s masterful photographs from the artist and his wife and collaborator, Linda Cheverton Wick.
“Walter Wick’s photographs invite important questions: What are we looking at? How did this come to be? Is there more than meets the eye?” said Andrew Westover, exhibition curator and the High’s Eleanor McDonald Storza deputy director of learning and civic engagement. “Through imaginative optical illusions and technical photographic skill, Wick’s images encourage people of all ages to look closely and interact with art in more meaningful ways. We hope this sparks conversation, understanding and deeper connections among our visitors.”
The exhibition will be presented in the Special Exhibition Galleries on the Second Level of the Stent Family Wing.
Exhibition Organization and Support
“I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders” is organized by the New Britain Museum of American Art. This exhibition is made possible by Premier Exhibition Series Sponsor Delta Air Lines, Inc.; 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 Harry Norman Realtors; Benefactor Exhibition Series Supporters Robin and Hilton Howell; Ambassador Exhibition Series Supporters Sara and Paul Steinfeld and Mrs. Harriet H. Warren; and 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, and 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 and RJR Nabisco Exhibition Endowment Fund.
About the High Museum of Art
Located in the heart of Atlanta, the High Museum of Art connects with audiences from across the Southeast and around the world through its distinguished collection, dynamic schedule of special exhibitions and engaging community-focused programs. Housed within facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, the High features a collection of more than 20,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially that of artists from the American South; burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, new media and design; a growing collection of African art, with work dating from prehistory through the present; and significant holdings of European paintings and works on paper. The High is dedicated to reflecting the diversity of its communities and offering a variety of exhibitions and educational programs that engage visitors with the world of art, the lives of artists and the creative process. For more information, visit the High’s website.
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DIGITAL IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
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Marci Tate Davis
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404-733-4423