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The Art of Maurice Sendak
Nearly three hundred reproductions of the famous illustrator's work over the years, including finished illustrations, sketches, penned fantasies, and stage-set designs, are accompanied by an account of Sendak's life and career
258 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
April 26, 2019
“I remember my own childhood vividly...I knew terrible things. But I knew I mustn't let adults know I knew. It would scare them.” ― Maurice Sendak
“Where the Wild Things Are” was the late illustrator Maurice Sendak's first picture book in full color. In the beginning, it was going to be called “Where the Wild horses Are” but Sendak discovered he couldn't draw horses. So he decided to go back to the monsters in his childhood and realized they were all his Jewish uncles and aunts. Bad teeth, bloodshot eyes and huge noses who grabbed you by the cheek. Sendack grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the 1930's and decided to become an illustrator after seeing a Walt Disney film as age twelve.
In the writing “Where the Wild Things Are” Sendak realized he had to write in a rhythmic pattern to interest the child. It worked and the book is a fabulous and humorous childhood classic. In 1970, he published his second book called “In the Night Kitchen” that was in simple comic book form. His drawings were inspired by Winsor McCay who did the comic strip “Little Nemo” and Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons. Why did everything good happen when children went to bed was the plot and it was Sendak's favorite picture book. Sendak went on to draw and write eighty more children books in his life. He was an amazing illustrator and seems to understand the very heart and essence of being a child.
I enjoyed reading about his wonderful work, his funny personality and his art life. His books are treasured in my home and we (my now adult kids and I) all adore his work. I found this book not only very entertaining but moving. Highly recommend. Five glorious stars.
“Where the Wild Things Are” was the late illustrator Maurice Sendak's first picture book in full color. In the beginning, it was going to be called “Where the Wild horses Are” but Sendak discovered he couldn't draw horses. So he decided to go back to the monsters in his childhood and realized they were all his Jewish uncles and aunts. Bad teeth, bloodshot eyes and huge noses who grabbed you by the cheek. Sendack grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the 1930's and decided to become an illustrator after seeing a Walt Disney film as age twelve.
In the writing “Where the Wild Things Are” Sendak realized he had to write in a rhythmic pattern to interest the child. It worked and the book is a fabulous and humorous childhood classic. In 1970, he published his second book called “In the Night Kitchen” that was in simple comic book form. His drawings were inspired by Winsor McCay who did the comic strip “Little Nemo” and Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons. Why did everything good happen when children went to bed was the plot and it was Sendak's favorite picture book. Sendak went on to draw and write eighty more children books in his life. He was an amazing illustrator and seems to understand the very heart and essence of being a child.
I enjoyed reading about his wonderful work, his funny personality and his art life. His books are treasured in my home and we (my now adult kids and I) all adore his work. I found this book not only very entertaining but moving. Highly recommend. Five glorious stars.
January 27, 2019
This is a biography of Sendak as artist, focusing primarily on his artistic development, with relatively little information about his personal life. Consequently, one comes away from the book not really feeling as if one knows the man, though there are certainly hints and moments of insight. Nevertheless, it is a lovely book, and it does deliver what it promises: its title specifies that its focus is the art, so its reticence about the man should not be surprising. The illustrations are lavish and include selections from most of Sendak's work as well as rarities and unseen pieces (e.g. sketches, pages from dummies or mock-ups), and the reproduction is first-rate. I might quibble with some of the selections, especially in cases when the book discusses an image in some detail without actually including it. Some works are given oddly short shrift, as well. I was surprised at how little was said about Outside over There, for instance, given how important I see that book as being. Nevertheless, this is a treat for Sendak fans.
May 11, 2017
I remember this from my childhood. My mother liked the book and we enjoyed it as well although I do have a vague feeling that I found it a bit scary. Anyway, jump ahead 45 or so years and my wife Amy and I own The Night Kitchen Bakery http://www.nightkitchenbakery.com/ in Philadelphia. So, once again my mother came through and bought this book for me a couple years ago which my wife remembered. I had forgotten it and just thought that it was there on our shelf going back to who knows when and it would always be there to read. My daughter pulled it out and started to look through it so I decided to read it. I cannot even draw a decent cube so the work by any artist fascinates and leaves me in awe whether it be drawing, music, books or movies. Anyway, I loved this book. There is so much to this wonderful person who happens to work so fantastically hard to bring a work of quality to the rest of the world. I agree that the life of a child is full of wonder both good and sometimes bad. Children know bullshit. It is only the adult who sometimes loses that ability to detect. For those things I forgot books like this touch me on a subconscious level which I will never be able to explain beyond the giddy "ooooh, I like that!". Amy and I took our daughter Izabella to The Rosenbach museum in Philadelphia to see his work that was showcased there before being transferred to his home/museum in Connecticut after his death. I am happy we made the effort and am delighted that Amy and my hard work has garnered us admiration and respect in our chosen home of Philadelphia. We love Maurice Sendak and what he gave to the world. May he find whatever he believed he would both in this life and in whatever might come next whether wild or not.
June 8, 2012
What an incredibly talented man Maurice Sendak was! This is a real toe crusher of a book--large and definitely heavy! I had seen a short YouTube video about Sendak, but this really fleshes that out. Having a Max in our family, I am certainly partial to Where the Wild Things Are--in fact, I sewed a Max costume for our grandson. I was interested to read that the love of his life was Jennie, his Sealyham dog, who figures in both prose and poetry in his work. My husband considers his art inconsequential, but I disagree. He has changed the face of children's literature Selma G. Lanes does a nice job of summarizing, and presenting the life of Maurice Sendak.
May 9, 2010
This is a book for adults who love children's books. The most interesting part of the book is the information about Mopsy, Sendak's beloved dog, who appears in a number of his books. I also enjoyed reading about In the Night Kitchen and how Sendak dealt with criticism.
October 15, 2014
I really love his off the wall drawings. I always knew he had a freak flag. Lots of great art and information in this book. Fan for life. My favorite illustrations are of his dog and love, Jennie.
February 7, 2021
All the stars are for the quality of Maurice Sendak’s illustrations and my love of “Where the Wild Things Are”. This gorgeous, full color hardback book was a lucky find in “like new” quality at Goodwill. I think I paid $1.49!
I could look at the illustrations all day, and I find Sendak to be an interesting personality...a true product of his times. I have always loved the honesty portrayed in his children’s books and his illustrations, and his direct manner in interviews.
I didn’t give this five stars, however, only because I found much of the writing to be very dry and impersonal and dense, with a good deal of overwrought vocabulary. Frankly, I slogged through the reading because I am intensely interested in Sendak, despite the writing style.
I enjoyed direct quotes from Sendak which reflected his personality, and the origin stories of various elements from his books...for example Max’s wolf suit. It was interesting to consider the impact of Sendak’s personal life experiences on whichever book he happened to be creating. (Nothing exists in a vacuum, right?) It was interesting to note the influence of Freudian theory and psychoanalysis during the time Sendak was writing...I feel this had to have had an influence on Sendak’s observations of his childhood emotions, which I feel is the driving force behind so many of his creations.
I liked when Sendak shared his thoughts and insights about the power of illustration and the precision of writing. I also enjoyed the information about the world of children’s book publishing.
So this book was just like a picture book...the best part was the illustrations!
I could look at the illustrations all day, and I find Sendak to be an interesting personality...a true product of his times. I have always loved the honesty portrayed in his children’s books and his illustrations, and his direct manner in interviews.
I didn’t give this five stars, however, only because I found much of the writing to be very dry and impersonal and dense, with a good deal of overwrought vocabulary. Frankly, I slogged through the reading because I am intensely interested in Sendak, despite the writing style.
I enjoyed direct quotes from Sendak which reflected his personality, and the origin stories of various elements from his books...for example Max’s wolf suit. It was interesting to consider the impact of Sendak’s personal life experiences on whichever book he happened to be creating. (Nothing exists in a vacuum, right?) It was interesting to note the influence of Freudian theory and psychoanalysis during the time Sendak was writing...I feel this had to have had an influence on Sendak’s observations of his childhood emotions, which I feel is the driving force behind so many of his creations.
I liked when Sendak shared his thoughts and insights about the power of illustration and the precision of writing. I also enjoyed the information about the world of children’s book publishing.
So this book was just like a picture book...the best part was the illustrations!
September 20, 2023
I thought this was extremely interesting and informative. I have always been a fan of Sendak’s works, but little did I know HOW MUCH he had done. My mind is truly blown, and I love his descriptions of how he started at point A with his illustrations and book plots and eventually got to point B. He’s whimsical, artsy, fantastical, earthy, and eccentric. And I love it.
One of my favorite lines - Sendak: “To me, illustrating means having a passionate affair with the words. I hate to say that it’s akin to a mystic rite, but there is no other language to describe what happens. It is a sensual, deeply important experience. An illustration is an enlargement, an interpretation of the text, so that the child will comprehend the words better. As an artist, you are always serving the words.”
Okay, one more - Sendak: “A true picture book is a visual poem.”
Bonus: you get to see tons of his art in this book as well. I enjoyed this one.
One of my favorite lines - Sendak: “To me, illustrating means having a passionate affair with the words. I hate to say that it’s akin to a mystic rite, but there is no other language to describe what happens. It is a sensual, deeply important experience. An illustration is an enlargement, an interpretation of the text, so that the child will comprehend the words better. As an artist, you are always serving the words.”
Okay, one more - Sendak: “A true picture book is a visual poem.”
Bonus: you get to see tons of his art in this book as well. I enjoyed this one.
August 10, 2023
I love Maurice Sendak and his art. I didn’t love the writing here. It was boring and the details included were superfluous. The text and graphics often did not meld. The author gets into some of his personal life but skirts other parts like his 50 year relationship with his partner. She never once mentions him.
December 3, 2018
Wonderful. The work and life story of one of my favorite illustrators compiled into one gorgeous book. This is a forever book that I will revisit again and again.
March 16, 2019
Dominick has put it better than I could.
June 23, 2019
Lovely retrospective volume. Very interesting story of the becoming of a commercial artist and the fruits of creativity and truly following one's calling.
June 28, 2019
I love this book.
July 4, 2020
What’s not to love if you are Sendak fan? Written by a long-time friend, this is a coffee table style book with huge, full-page illustrations from a full range of Sendak’s work.
April 15, 2021
What's not to love?
July 2, 2021
Primarily read for the artwork, stayed for the history.
September 9, 2023
A pretty solid collection of art, but there's way more text than art and it gets pretty tedious
January 5, 2010
This is a huge book (physically large) at 270ish pages. Selma G. Lanes provides a historical perspective to M. Sendak's life's works. The pictures are absolutely amazing. Having only seen a few of Sendak's work, I thought he could only draw in one particular fashion. It was amazing to see what he is capable of. Sendak incorporates much of his life into his illustrations and stories. It was particularly interesting to see the drafts and progress to his final work. This book was written in the 1980s and therefore tells about Sendak's life without telling about his life. Lanes respected Sendak's closeted lifestyle and it seems that Sendak only loved his dogs, his mother and father and his work. I would be interested in reading a more inclusive history of Sendak's life now that he is openly (ish) gay and how that reflects in his work.
October 30, 2015
"It's only adults who read the top layer most of the time. I'm generalizing again, of course, but I'll bet my pictures don't surprise kids. They know what's in Grimm. They know that stepmother probably means mother; that the word step is there to avoid frightening a lot of older people. Children know there are mothers who abandon their children, emotionally if not literally. Sometimes they have to live with this fact. They don't lie to themselves. They wouldn't survive if they did. And my object is to never lie to them." (205)
Maurice has a lot of passion about illustration. I never realized that so many of my favorite books growing up were by him! Ha. Reading this biography definitely got me thinking about the importance of treating children like they are people and being "real" with them.
Maurice has a lot of passion about illustration. I never realized that so many of my favorite books growing up were by him! Ha. Reading this biography definitely got me thinking about the importance of treating children like they are people and being "real" with them.
August 30, 2015
Loved reading about Maurice. I only wish they had given more detail about him growing up. There was a lot dedicated to his 20's and growing into adulthood but I feel robbed of his youth and culture. They left out any significant detail about his parents. Besides being Jewish immigrants and his love of storytelling inherited by his father again there is something lacking. This book while very detailed and colorful it's like someone describing the wonderful 5 star restaurant to you and the three course meal they enjoyed and only seeing it through their eyes and never tasting it.
April 6, 2013
A collection of some of the most important moments of childhood for me. I own most of his books, and got them as they came out. The Nut Shell Library etc. If u like him at all, and Love good Books. This is a MUST. Well made, large, Color Prints to die for. His early art made as a boy, his later works unreleased, all perfectly displayed . If on wishes to learn about him, or just view his art, this is it!
February 24, 2011
Great art! A bit slow, but worth a read if you love his work. The author gives you insight into why he draw they way he does compared to other artists of the same time. The book however, only focuses on his life as an artist, not on particularly on his whole life, just those parts that impacted his art. In other words, if you want to know why he never married or had kids, the book won't tell you.
September 11, 2013
Although this is an oversized, coffee-table style book, it has a lot of great information in it, not just the wonderful art of Sendak. I learned more about this man as an artist and creator of children's books. It's especially interesting to read about all the writers he collaborated with over the years in addition to creating his own books.
June 28, 2012
This book is perfect for any Maurice Sendak fan! It has some great info about Sendak's earlier work and a few fold-out pages in the middle of the book that are illustrations from Where the Wild Things Are. This is one of my favorites in my art book collection.
August 17, 2012
I learned so much about Sendak and his artistry and his life and how the two were so closely intertwined. Sendak is one of my all time literary heroes because he stayed so true to his own vision of both childhood and art.
June 29, 2013
Ah, Maurice! Some about his beginnings and lots about the history of his art. Lots of sketchbook examples and lots and lots of his finished art. The story of books he illustrated and books he wrote and illustrated. A joy.
February 9, 2008
My daughter, who grew up with Sedak's books, and I were absolutely delighted to see this.
November 24, 2009
Beautiful
January 2, 2010
interesting. learned lots. great art.
November 9, 2011
Very cool book on this genius man! Scored it at Goodwill for $6.99!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews