Matisse’s Garden (MoMA)

By Samantha Friedman. Illustrated by Cristina Amodeo

One day, the artist Henri Matisse cut a small bird from a piece of white paper. It was a simple shape, but he liked the way it looked and didn’t want to throw it away, so he pinned it to the wall of his apartment. But the bird looked lonely all by itself, so he cut out more shapes to join it. He didn’t know it then, but he had taken the first step in creating a new form of art, one that would soon transform the walls of his studio into a blooming, vibrant garden. 48 pp.; illustrated throughout.