I recently went to the Mary Ryan Gallery in Chelsea to see a group of paintings—gouache on paper—by the artist and illustrator Maira Kalman. Born in 1949 in Tel Aviv, Kalman is a force of nature. Since her first children’s book, illustrating the lyrics to David Byrne’s “Stay Up Late,” she’s published extensively for children and adults, contributed covers for The New Yorker, designed costumes and sets for the Mark Morris Dance Company, played the part of the duck in Isaac Mizrahi’s production of Peter and the Wolf, and starred in the title role of her own short film, My Name Is Alice B. Toklas.
