Report: The Art of Michael K. Frith

Published: November 10, 2025

This report was brought to us by ToughPigs friend Michael Kirk Lane. Full disclosure that this writer had the privilege of working alongside Frith and Mullen, to catalog nearly 600 pieces of Frith’s artwork that were considered for the exhibition. Said Lane, “What a blessing it was to spend hours in their New York home going through his decades of work and sharing stories of the various projects and those who were involved in their creation.” All photos by Brandon Morrison, courtesy of Bermuda National Gallery.

The Art of Michael K. Frith: From Pencil to Puppet, a first-of-its-kind museum exhibition, opened at The Bermuda National Gallery in Hamilton, Bermuda, last month. The exhibit chronicles Mr. Frith’s career from his early years in Bermuda through his later work with No Strings Productions, the non-profit production company he co-founded.

Many articles have been written for this site and the Muppet Wiki on Frith’s contributions to Henson Productions, but as a refresher, here is a brief summary: Frith’s association with Jim Henson began in 1971 when, as an editor at Random House, he was asked to edit and art direct the original Sesame Street Story Books. Frith had been with Random House since 1963, serving as an illustrator and editor, as well as Editor-in-Chief of the Beginner Books series, alongside Dr. Seuss. In 1975, Frith joined Henson Associates full-time as Art Director. He was named Vice President in 1978, and Executive Vice President and Director of Creative Services in 1985.

During the exhibit’s opening reception, Jennifer L. Phillips, Executive Director of the Bermuda National Gallery, noted, “From Pencil to Puppet is a chronological journey over the course of Michael’s life, which literally starts with a pencil and ends with puppets. At final count we were at over 1,000 pieces of artwork, photographs, puppets and other artifacts, which we somehow managed to condense into approximately 350 works seen here, which have been displayed in a way that both captures the breadth of Michael’s output while telling his incredible story in a concise, digestible way,” and that, “We put so much work into this show because we wanted to celebrate Michael in the way that he deserves to be celebrated…”

Mr. Frith also spoke about the exhibit at the opening. “If there is a message behind all of this work, it’s the message of the joy of collaboration. And I have been so unbelievably fortunate throughout my creative career to be able to work with some of the most amazing artists, writers, costumers, and musicians. It has been one of the things that has made my life a joy, and in each and every case, with each and every one of those remarkable people, it has contributed so much to the final product in each project.”

During a panel discussion two nights after the opening reception that included Frith and Phillips, along with Karen Falk, Archives Director of the Jim Henson Company, Frith reflected again on collaboration, commenting that:

“One of the things that was most gratifying to me in the work that I did, was having so many people who came through and then went on to Hollywood or wherever… people who had gone on to successes in other places who I’d run into later and they would say. ‘Thank you so much… thank you for asking me to do things that I didn’t know I could do.’

And I’ve always believed that everybody has so much potential. There’s so much ability in everybody. I would be in these meetings, and there’d be somebody who would hold up a hand and say, ‘I’m just in accounting.’ And I go, ‘No, no, you’re not just an accountant. You’re somebody who has something creative to give. Let’s hear it!’ And they put it out there, and you go, ‘wow, that’s great’… you have things that you can contribute in so many different fields. Let yourself do it.

So many of us grew up with the idea… that we can’t or we shouldn’t, or we’re this or we’re that. We’re pigeonholed from a very early stage in life. Don’t let them pigeonhole you, and please don’t pigeonhole other people. Be aware of the incredible potential in everybody.”

The exhibit begins with Frith’s early work as a teenage artist in Bermuda. Highlights in this section include a self-portrait of Frith from 1955. This section also notes that at age 14, Frith told The Royal Gazette of his intentions to be a professional cartoonist. I’d say his dreams have worked out well.

The next section highlights Frith’s years as President of the Harvard Lampoon, including ”Alligator,” the best-selling parody of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, which Frith co-wrote with Christopher Cerf in 1962, and many illustrations of merino sheep featuring Frith’s hilarious wordplay.

We then follow Frith to his time at Random House. Highlights in this section include a personal note to Frith from Dr. Seuss as well as examples of illustrations in process from initial pencil sketches to the printed page. The pièce de résistance of this section is an entire unpublished book that Frith and Dr. Seuss were working on in 1975 when Frith left Random House. Entitled “The Dream Book,” visitors are treated to page layouts and sketches from both Frith and Seuss, as well as Frith’s thumbnails for the entire book.

We then reach what readers of Tough Pigs are waiting for, Frith’s first drawings of Muppet characters. His work on the early Sesame Street books is highly featured, including his iconic endpapers for the original Sesame Street Story Book. Also featured are a photograph for an early calendar art directed by Frith that features Cookie Monster baking cookies of the alphabet (while viewing the exhibit with former Vice President of Children’s Television Workshop, Sharon Lerner, she noted that she baked the cookies for the photo), as well as Frith’s concept drawings for both Barkley and Alice Snuffleupagus.

We then move on to what the exhibit refers to as “The Henson Years (1975-1995).” In the center of this room are 5 puppets on loan from The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta: Scooter, Fozzie, Gobo, Traveling Matt, and Mokey, accompanied by Frith’s concept sketches for the character.

The room is then split into two sections: The Muppets and The Fraggles. As you move around the Muppet section you will see many amazing illustrations by Frith: drawings of each of the Muppet Babies as Star Wars characters, designs for Miss Piggy calendars and merchandise, concept drawings for The Electric Mayhem, Fozzie, Beauregard, Camilla, and Pepe, background characters for Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, and the Saturday Night Live Land of Gorch characters.

There is a stunning illustration of all the Muppets packing a car for a traffic safety campaign. This image includes gorgeous renderings of Piggy, Kermit, Sweetums, Robin, The Electric Mayhem, Bunsen, Beaker, Rowlf, Scooter, Statler, Waldorf, The Swedish Chef, and Gonzo. Also featured in this section are pictures of Frith over the years, including one that has him standing in for John Denver in the iconic cover image of John Denver and The Muppets: A Christmas Together.

In the Fraggle Rock section of the exhibit, we are first greeted by 12 framed concept drawings on stationery from the Hyde Park Hotel in England, where the initial creative meetings took place. While these and some other illustrations from this section were seen recently in the book, “Fraggle Rock: The Ultimate Visual History,” there are illustrations that fans will delight in seeing for the first time. Each of the show’s core species gets its own section with concept drawings and full renderings, including some made for a proposed Doozer animated spin-off series in the early ’90s. This section also notes the many ties between Frith’s native Bermuda and the world of Fraggle Rock.

In the middle of the Fraggle section, there is a tribute to Frith’s favorite tool: The Faber-Castell Col-erase Blue Pencil No.1276. These pencils, which are no longer produced, have been Frith’s main design tool since his days at Random House.

As you enter the third level of the exhibit, you are greeted by a tribute to Michael’s wife, longtime puppeteer, writer, and director, Kathryn Mullen. Then you move into a room dedicated to Frith’s work on Between The Lions, the highly successful PBS series designed to teach reading. The center of the room features a display with three of its stars: Lionel, Leona, and Click the Mouse reading books from Frith’s years at Random House. Featured on the walls of this section are concept drawings of many of the show’s characters and scenic elements, as well as the puppets of detective Sam Spud and his sidekick Peaches.

The final section of the exhibit is dedicated to No Strings Productions. Founded in 2002 by Frith and Mullen, alongside Irish aid worker Johnnie McGlade, No Strings produces content for at-risk children in developing countries. To date, the company’s films have been dubbed into 24 languages and distributed to 13 countries. In addition to the concept designs and illustrations, there are two display cases featuring 17 puppets from the company’s body of work for children around the world.

Just outside of the No Strings room, there is a tablet featuring digital versions of many more Frith illustrations. In addition to all of the puppets and illustrations, there are also video screens featuring documentary interviews and clips from throughout Frith’s career, including behind-the-scenes photographs featuring Frith and Mullen as well as such notable figures as: Dr. Seuss, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Jon Stone, Faz Fazakas, Dave Goelz, Polly Smith, Jan Rosenthal, Steve Whitmire, Peter Linz, Heather Asch, Tim Lagasse, and Jennifer Barnhart.

The final moment in the exhibit is a wall with a large quote from Frith that says:

“There is nothing I have ever seen that has the power of a puppet in reaching not just kids, but anyone. It’s truly a kind of magic.”

The exhibit is currently slated to run at the Bermuda National Gallery through May, 2026. Hopefully, it can find a life and home after that to allow more fans of Frith’s work to appreciate his art up close.