David Macaulay mural, Rhode Island ©Author Adventures

David Macaulay, Publishing Industry Game-Changer

David Macaulay is an author and illustrator with a large audience spanning the globe, but perhaps mostly in North America and Europe where many of his books and stories are set.

The State of Rhode Island Highway Beautification program featured three murals by David Macaulay along I-95 in Greenwich, Providence, and Hopkinton. However, the Providence mural was defaced irreparably by taggers in 2017 so was removed. As of this writing, the other two murals are still visible in their original small town locations. Greenwich has a population of approximately 13,000 and Hopkinton has a population of slightly more than 8,000 residents.

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), British-born David Macaulay published some of the most detailed books on architecture and how inventions work that can be found in the children’s and young adult sections of public libraries and bookstores throughout the US. Popular favorites include Cathedral, Castle, and The New Way Things Work. His ease of explaining complex architectural and engineering accomplishments has earned him high respect in several fields. He has been distinguished with a MacArthur Fellow award for his life’s work.

Read an interview with David Macaulay here: Publishers Weekly.

Click TED to watch the author’s excellent talk about a journey through Rome. He has delivered special guest speeches to numerous literary and design conferences and events, sometimes including book signings. Autographed David Macaulay books make popular gifts. The Author Adventures team proudly acquired one for its current collection.

The murals make up the third author “stop” on our Rhode Island Trail, but don’t actually stop when you see them. The murals are intended to be viewed swiftly while moving along I-95.

Patricia Smart