Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Random House Children's Books, And Chase Art Companies Announce The Winner Of The Third-Annual Oh, The Places You'll Go! College Scholarship

NEW YORK, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P., Random House Children's Books, and Chase Art Companies announce the winner of the third-annual Oh, the Places You'll Go! College Scholarship. Allison Conway of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, was selected, from among 140 finalists, to receive a $10,000 contribution toward her post-secondary education, which she will pursue at Savannah College of Art and Design. Ms. Conway described her winning artwork, entitled Draw Bridge: "The story Oh, the Places You'll Go! talks about dangerous, sad, and lonely times life can take you through. I wanted to illustrate a treacherous path that I might need to cross, or a chance I might have to take to get to my next step in life. The rickety bridge is made of pencils because I know that wherever life takes me I will be doing art. It may be difficult at times but I can always pull through and make it to the other side."

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120424/NY92982)

The panel of jurors included Audrey Stone Geisel, Ted Geisel's (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) widow and President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises; internationally renowned artist and pop culture icon Peter Max; Bob Chase, Jr., President and Creative Director Chase Art Companies, exclusively representing The Art of Dr. Seuss since 1997; Cathy Goldsmith, VP & Associate Publisher, Random House Books for Young Readers Group, who collaborated closely as Art Director for Dr. Seuss on some of his most famous titles; Richard Waller, Executive Director of University Museums, University of Richmond, MFA Yale University; Philip Grausman, Artist, Critic of Architectural Drawing, Graduate School of Architecture, Yale University, 1972–2008, MFA Cranbrook Academy of Art, and Wendy Calman, Artist, Professor of Printmaking, Indiana University, MFA Temple University.

"Dr. Seuss was a big advocate of education," says Susan Brandt, President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, "and we are proud to be a part of a scholarship program that encourages students to express themselves creatively." This year's scholarship applicants were asked to create a unique, two-dimensional piece of original artwork reflecting an interpretation of the inspirational message of Oh, the Places You'll Go! Upon its publication in 1990, Oh, the Places You'll Go! was embraced enthusiastically for its wonderfully wise outlook on life and for encouraging the potential that lies within us all. This remarkable book has since sold over 10 million copies and become the quintessential gift for graduates of all ages—from preschool to high school to college and beyond.

"Having worked with Ted for many years as his art director, and quite closely with him on Oh, the Places You'll Go!, it was an honor to be part of the scholarship program as a judge and to see how his imagination continues to inspire young people today," says Cathy Goldsmith, VP & Associate Publisher, Random House/Golden Books Young Readers Group.

Chase says of Ms. Conway's piece, "The skillfully presented pencil 'draw bridge' hovering tenuously over an unforgiving landscape makes for a clever pun, while expressing the artist's resolve to overcome life's obstacles. Allison's artwork was very highly regarded by each of the seven jurors."

The first runner-up, Adam Dalton Blake of Sudbury, Massachusetts, who plans to attend Rhode Island School of Design in the fall, will receive a framed Lion Stroll limited edition canvas from The Art of Dr. Seuss collection. "Adam's cityscape is well executed and the color of the painted figure is jarring in a good sense in creating his idea of open air and possibility," says Waller. 

The second runner-up, Julia Schomberg of La Crosse, Wisconsin, will receive a framed Oh, the Places You'll Go! limited edition print from The Art of Dr. Seuss collection. Calman says of Ms. Schomberg's work, "Clever use of materials, the map being flipped onto the side to make it less readable, acting more as a visual background though part of the main idea. The ambiguity of the meaning of the crow in different cultures, as a good or bad omen, in this case symbolizes both the positive and negative aspects of Seuss's story."  Ms. Schomberg will be attending the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities.

One hundred and forty finalists' artworks were displayed in special exhibitions in 15 fine art galleries, featuring The Art of Dr. Seuss, throughout North America during the month of March.  

Oh, the Places You'll Go! is available in a variety of formats for graduates of all ages, and collectors. In addition to the classic edition, a board book and pop-up are also available from Random House. Oh, Baby! Go, Baby! is a board book in the Dr. Seuss Nursery line perfect for the littlest hands and Oh, the Places You'll Go Pop-Up! is a beautifully designed pop-up book created by master paper engineer David Carter.

Visit http://www.drseussart.com/facebookcontest.html to view the winning scholarship entries and Seussville.com for more information about Dr. Seuss and his books.

About Dr. Seuss

Theodor "Seuss" Geisel is quite simply the most beloved children's book author of all time. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books for children. Hundreds of millions of copies have found their way into homes and hearts around the world. While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading. For more information about Dr. Seuss and his works, visit Seussville.com.

The primary focus of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. is to protect the integrity of the Dr. Seuss books while expanding beyond books into ancillary areas. This effort is a strategic part of the overall mission to nurture and safeguard the relationship consumers have with Dr. Seuss characters. Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) said he never wanted to license his characters to anyone who would "round out the edges." That is one of the guiding philosophies of Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Audrey S. Geisel, the widow of Dr. Seuss, heads Dr. Seuss Enterprises as President.  Learn more about Dr. Seuss at Facebook.com/Dr.Seuss.

Random House Children's Books is the world's largest English-language children's trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks and apps, the imprints of Random House Children's Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House is the longtime home of the beloved and bestselling Dr. Seuss books (Seussville.com), which continue to make learning to read fun for millions of children everywhere. The company's website, Kids @ Random (RandomHouse.com/kids) offers an array of activities, games and educational resources for children, teens, parents, and educators. Random House Children's Books is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG, a leading international media company.

Beyond the familiar faces featured in Dr. Seuss's children's books, Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) created a separate body of paintings and sculptures, which have rarely been seen by the public. Since 1997 Chase Art Companies has worked to bring this collection of artworks into the public view. Reproductions of those images, as well as limited editions derived from his original book illustrations, are exhibited in galleries and museums around the world alongside the works of Rembrandt, Picasso, Miro, and Warhol. To learn more about The Art of Dr. Seuss, please visit DrSeussArt.com.

SOURCE Random House Children's Books