STOCKBRIDGE, MASS.- Norman Rockwell Museum is presenting I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders, a major exhibition launching this summer that celebrates the visionary work of beloved photographic illustrator and author Walter Wick. Renowned worldwide for his iconic I SPY series; Wick’s award-winning books have captivated generations of audiences. The exhibition, on view from June 7 through October 26, 2025, showcases more than 50 years of Wick’s innovative artistry, featuring his iconic photographic illustrations, miniature worlds, optical illusions, and puzzle challenges. Themes that have long fascinated Wick and his multigenerational sleuths, including Miniature Worlds; Craft-Built Worlds; Optical Illusions; I Spy Games; Puzzle Challenges; Wonders of Science and Nature; and Curiosity Shop, will be presented in both two and three-dimensional forms.

“Walter Wick’s work exemplifies the universal appeal and magic of creating imaginary worlds,” said Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director/CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum. “Through his lens, everyday objects become portals to imagined landscapes, inviting viewers of all ages into intricate visual stories that transcend age and time. This exhibition of photographic illustration broadens our tradition of presenting the many genres of illustration art, providing a welcoming and fun gathering space for generations of visitors.” 

The I SPY! exhibition features three full galleries dedicated to Wick’s art and dioramas, which were built in his workshop and photographed for his books. It also highlights such memorable books as I SPY: Fantasy; I SPY: Fun House; I SPY: School Days; Can You See What I See? Dream Machine; Can You See What I See? Scary Night; Can You See What I See? Treasure Ships; Can You See What I See? Once Upon a Time; Hey, Seymour! and Walter Wick’s Optical Tricks, among others.  

"Walter Wick’s unique approach to visual storytelling brings together the worlds of art and technology, inspiring a sense of wonder and discovery,” said Chief Curator Stephanie Haboush Plunkett. “His immersive narratives are painstakingly designed, built, and assembled with an eye toward artistry, craftsmanship, and technical wizardry.”

A gallery of paired works by Wick and Norman Rockwell invites exploration of each artist’s use of photography in their unique artistic process. Among the works on view, by Wick’s request, is Rockwell’s 1958 Saturday Evening Post cover painting, The Runaway. 

“The Runaway is centered on a youth who, not unlike me or my readers, is seeking new adventures,” said artist Walter Wick. “It involves Rockwell’s need for a physical set, which he transformed with paint to meet his aesthetic and narrative goals, compared with my use of sets, which have to be specially built to accomplish the same.”

Comparisons also invite deep examination of Rockwell’s love of whimsy and visual tricks as seen in his series of three intricate, lighthearted imaginary worlds in his April Fool’s covers for The Saturday Evening Post. In addition, Closing Up a Summer Cottage (1957), Norman Rockwell’s only photographic illustration, created as an advertisement for the Eastman Kodak Company and seen in New York’s Grand Central Station, is also on view. 

 An intimate video interview with Wick traces his life, art, and career, plus a touch screen interactive invites visitors into Wick’s artistic process for a range of his projects. 

 I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders is organized by the New Britain Museum of American Art in partnership with the artist, Walter Wick.

A native of Hartford, CT, Wick grew up in East Granby, where he played and enjoyed time spent exploring nature and building things. His brother introduced him to photography, and he began his artistic career as a photographer, becoming enamored with the technical aspects of studio photography. Wick aspired to master studio techniques, but also to represent concepts like the perception of space and time in photographs, experimenting with mirrors, time exposures, photo composites, and other tricks. This manipulation of processes and perception led to a prolific career that has resulted in the publication of more than 26 children’s books, including the I SPY series and the Can You See What I See? series. Together, they have more than 45 million copies in print and are translated into more than 10 languages.

 “I grew up in a rural part of Connecticut and was an outdoor kid. I climbed trees, built tree houses, and built forts,” Wick said. “I skated on ponds and skied in the woods. I was not a very good student, but I was a tinkerer, and I loved building things, making my own toys -- like skateboards -- out of old roller skates and unicycles out of my sister’s tricycle. Tinkering and hands-on learning gave me a freedom that turned out to be good for my career in illustrative photography—I could look at a pile of scrap and turn it into something.” Wick’s work invites stepping into the world of makers, away from screens and digital mediation, to the pleasurable act of creating in 3-dimension. Photography then memorializes those worlds.

A "photographic illustrator" is an artist who uses photography as a primary tool to create illustrative images by combining elements of photography with the creative manipulation and storytelling aspects of traditional illustration. Photographs can be edited digitally based on the artist’s intention to present specific narratives, ideas, or concepts that move beyond the capture of a realistic scene. Modern photographic illustration, as seen in the art of Walter Wick, often begins with objects that are either found or made. Digital editing software is then employed to achieve complex compositions and alterations that might be difficult or impossible to capture solely with a camera.