And the Pursuit of Happiness

Energized and inspired by the 2008 elections, celebrated illustrator Maira Kalman traveled to Washington, D.C., launching a year-long investigation of American democracy and its workings. The result is an artist’s idiosyncratic vision of history and contemporary politics.

Whether returning to America’s historical roots at the Lincoln archive and Jefferson’s Monticello, or taking the pulse of the present day at a town hall meeting in Vermont, an Army base in Kentucky, and the inner chambers of the Supreme Court, Kalman finds evidence of democracy at work all around us. Her route is always one of fascinating indirection, but one that captures and shares in hundreds of beautiful, colorful reasons why we  are proud to be Americans.

“"Perhaps Kalman's greatest gift is that her work embodies both the ironic and the earnest at their best, at the place where they come together and create lyrical, personal truth. She is such a magnanimous artist. She invites us, welcomes us, into the most intimate, unprotected place of all: daydreams. Who can resist her?"”

“[C]reating a work of art that is both political and devoid of cynicism is a tricky prospect. Maira Kalman doesn’t back down, though: her new book, And the Pursuit of Happiness, is unabashedly optimistic, thoughtful, and at times earnest… These little journeys—from the inauguration to an army base in Kentucky to Thanksgiving in California and the year’s end in Manhattan—are pitch-perfect, gentle and funny and beautifully drawn.” — NEW YORKER.com

“[A] lushly painted romp through the fringes of democracy… The deliberate warmth and obsessive everyday-ness of Kalman's work means that it's often labeled "whimsical," a precious term that belies its deeper value.” — THE WASHINGTON POST

“It's hard not to be heartened by Kalman's tenacious pursuit of happiness, conveyed in irregularly capitalized handwritten text interspersed with photographs, sketches and cheerful, color-saturated gouache paintings that evoke Matisse, especially, in their predilection for vivid reds, pinks, greens and yellows. It all adds up to a refreshing, unorthodox, upbeat—and most welcome—tribute to America.” — NPR.org

“Perhaps Kalman’s greatest gift is that her work embodies both the ironic and the earnest at their best, at the place where they come together and create lyrical, personal truth. She is such a magnanimous artist. She invites us, welcomes us, into the most intimate, unprotected place of all: daydreams. Who can resist her?”

— NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS blog

“[A]n impromptu interpretive dance about our country, executed in fat, frolicky color, unprissy brushstroke, a smattering of pleasantly pedestrian photo­graphs and perfectly rambunctious penmanship… Oh, Maira. May we call you Maira? You are like the imaginary childhood friend we never had. Never mind, we have you now, and in these pages you give us your giant, wistful heart; your unfettered, inquisitive prose; and your loving renderings of hats, noses, despondency, public restrooms, a numbered Civil War grave, a Brooklyn sewage plant, Thomas Edison in a cream-colored suit, napping on the grass, and various fried eggs. Wait — this is democracy? In Kalman’s eclectic, catholic, ecstatically skewed view, yes. All this and more… Best of all, she leaves us curious, formulating our own questions, discovering what things we are burning to ask.”
— NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

MAIRA KALMAN is an illustrator, author, and designer. She is the author of The Principles of Uncertainty, and illustrator of the bestselling edition of William Strunk and E.B.White's The Elements of Style. Most recently, she collaborated with Michael Pollan to illustrate his bestselling Food Rules. Kalman's work is shown at the Jule Saul Gallery in Manhattan.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.