SEE: Brooklyn Art Exhibit Wishes Walt Whitman A Happy Birthday

DUMBO, BROOKLYN — An art exhibit opened this week hopes to wish Walt Whitman a happy 200th birthday by preserving his words and the house he once called home in Clinton Hill.

BlackBook Presents, an immersive gallery on John Street, opened a new exhibit honoring the Brooklyn poet's 200th birthday this week that will also raise money for a local group hoping to landmark his home on Ryerson Street.

The exhibit, called "Robust American Love," features paintings by John Ransom Phillips and officially opened on Monday.

“John Ransom Phillips is dedicated to ensuring that Whitman remains a living presence in his beloved Brooklyn,” said Karen Karbiener, president of The Walt Whitman Initiative and a scholar at New York University. “We’re grateful for his support of our campaign to save this endangered historical site.”

Half of the proceeds from Phillips' exhibit will go to the Walt Whitman Initiative, which has been working to get his house at 99 Ryerson St. designated as a city landmark.

Most recently, the initiative successfully helped get a city block near the house co-named for Whitman, who would have been 200 this year.

The 99 Ryserson Street house was one of more than 30 houses Whitman and his family lived in as they bounced around New York City in the early-to-mid 19th century. It is the last one standing in New York City where the poet lived and the home where he finished perhaps his most famous poem "Leaves of Grass." The home has since been nicknamed the "Leaves of Grass house."

The efforts to designate the home a landmark were renewed this year by the initiative and other organizations as they celebrated Whitman's 200th birthday on May 31 and throughout the year. A petition about the designation has garnered about 5,700 signatures.

Phillips, who is based in New York City, has created paintings, many with a selection of Whitman's most provocative quotes, to honor the poet. The metaphorical painting style is based on Whitman's poetry.

Here's a sneak peek at the exhibit:

(All photos courtesy of the artist.)