BRUNSWICK

Everyone has likely seen his work, especially young fans of

“Charlotte’s Web,” “Stuart Little,” “Little House on the Prairie” or “The Cricket in Times Square.” But most don’t know his name. It was Garth Williams, who lived from 1912 to 1996, who illustrated these and dozens more children’s classics in a career that spanned nearly 50 years.

Now Curtis Memorial Library is hosting the New England premiere of the exhibit “Garth Williams: Illustrator of the Century,” on view from May 1 through July 31.

“(Williams) exemplifies so many of the characteristics that we see in illustrators time and time again,” said Scott Nash, the co-founder of the Illustration Institute, speaking at the library Tuesday. “He’s hardworking, producing about 80 children’s books, incredibly prolific, supremely talented and largely unknown.”

Nash noted how illustrators work to serve the author’s narrative as part of a collaborative process. For example, Nash said, “Charlotte’s Web” author E.B. White — with whom Williams worked — envisioned the titular spider as having a spider’s body on a woman’s head.

Rather, Williams created “a face that was just two dots and a small mouth,” Nash said. As a result, that illustration “brought the reader into a character like Charlotte. A spider is a challenging character in a children’s book.”

Williams’ art lines the walls of the library’s second floor, with colorful images of children and baby farm animals, and black-and-white sketches. Others are clearly works-in-progress.

“What you’re going to see is imperfect art with notes all around it,” Nash said. “You’re going to see Wite-Out out on Fern’s face from Charlotte’s Web. You’re going to see the corrections. You’re going to see all of the work that goes into making the final art form, which is the book.”

“I think it’s awesome, because illustrators and books can be such an important combination together,” Curtis Memorial Library Director Elisabeth Doucett said, regarding the exhibit. “Having something in the library like this is just fabulous for all of us who grew up on these books and for the next generation to rediscover them.”

As part of the Garth Williams exhibit, Maine writer Melissa Sweet and Martha White, granddaughter of E.B. White, will be at the library at 6 p.m. on May 24 for an intimate conversation about his writings and life.

The exhibit is made possible through a partnership with the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature in Abilene, Texas, and the Illustration Institute on Peaks Island. It is free and open to the public during library hours.

dmoore@timesrecord.com