The exhibition traced the genesis of Maus from the original three-page comic and other early works to its final incarnation, and the specific design processes behind each page. Spiegelman's central metaphor -- in which Jews are drawn as mice and Germans as cats and the Poles as pigs -- provides a chillingly effective means for rendering the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust.

Recognizing the originality of the work, the 1992 Pulitzer Prize board created a special category to honor Spiegelman and the story's two volumes, "Maus, A Survivor's Tale I: My Father Bleeds History" and "Maus, A Survivor's Tale II: And Here My Troubles Begin."

Maus, which the New York Times Book Review called "a remarkable feat of documentary detail and novelistic vividness," also won praise for Spiegelman's unsparing look at his survivor father and their troubled relationship.

Embraced by critics, Maus brought a renewed sense of Holocaust consciousness to the American public. It also introduced the topic to new audiences because of its accessibility as a comic-book narrative, and through subsequent sales, reviews and stories written about the books.

Included in the exhibition were: A survey of Spiegelman's work prior to Maus, including two important predecessors, a three-page 1972 comic of the same title, and the autobiographical Prisoner on the Hell Planet. Also on display is a detailed analysis of the genesis of a single Maus page, from the transcript of Vladek Spiegelman's memoirs, through sketches, to the final drawing. This includes source materials used by Spiegelman to research the visual appearance of Auschwitz, including photographs and reproductions of drawings by concentration camp inmates.

The final drawings and preliminary studies used for the covers, endpapers and title pages of both Maus books were also exhibited. Visitors could view a CD ROM entitled "The Complete Maus." It featured two hours of interviews between Spiegelman and his father and commentary by Spiegelman on the creation of Maus.

"Art Spiegelman: The Road to Maus" presented a rare opportunity to see the creative process behind a monumental achievement.