Back in the day it seemed like Eloise, the child who (fictionally) resided in The Plaza, lived the life. That majestic little latchkey monster got to order beers from room service, feed lawyers rubber candy, saw open dolls, and terrorize debutantes, plus she had a PET TURTLE. Eloise was a baller, and now she's getting her own show at the New York-Historical Society.
Starting June 30th, the exhibition "Eloise at the Museum" will showcase memorabilia, manuscript pages, sketchbooks, dolls, and other objects that help define the collaboration between Kay Thompson, who authored the Eloise books, and Hilary Knight, who illustrated them. Highlights include unpublished illustrations from Eloise in Paris and Knight's original portrait of Eloise, which hung in the Plaza until it disappeared, then reappeared in the 1960s.
There's also an Eloise Emergency Hotel Kit on display that particularly piques my interest—it comes complete with vintage Jujubees and a little box of Pepsodent.
The NY-Historical Society's show comes courtesy of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts; earlier this year, that museum hosted its own Eloise show, to much acclaim.
"Eloise at the Museum" runs at the NY-HS (170 Central Park West) through October 9th.