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The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to Present
Maurice Sendak is one of most admired artists in children's literature. His uniquely expressive illustrations, which bring to life a world of fantasy and imagination, have won him the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the Caldecott Medal, and most recently the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature in 2003.
Picking up where Selma Lanes's earlier, landmark monograph, The Art of Maurice Sendak, left off, this new book traces Sendak's life and work from 1980 to the present, representing two decades filled with projects inside and outside the children's book arena. This strikingly designed volume is overflowing with hundreds of wonderful Sendak illustrations: sketches and final art for opera, ballet, and theater productions, as well as children's books, adult book jackets, posters, and CD covers.
An extended essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner, a friend of the artist, provides an intimate view of Sendak. With an insider's perspective, Kushner not only gives us a chronological overview of Sendak's work, but also allows us to see him as an accomplished author and artist redefining his legacy, and as a man coming to terms with himself. This survey will only add to our understanding and appreciation of this multitalented artist, whose creative endeavors are among the most inventive and treasured of our time.
Picking up where Selma Lanes's earlier, landmark monograph, The Art of Maurice Sendak, left off, this new book traces Sendak's life and work from 1980 to the present, representing two decades filled with projects inside and outside the children's book arena. This strikingly designed volume is overflowing with hundreds of wonderful Sendak illustrations: sketches and final art for opera, ballet, and theater productions, as well as children's books, adult book jackets, posters, and CD covers.
An extended essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner, a friend of the artist, provides an intimate view of Sendak. With an insider's perspective, Kushner not only gives us a chronological overview of Sendak's work, but also allows us to see him as an accomplished author and artist redefining his legacy, and as a man coming to terms with himself. This survey will only add to our understanding and appreciation of this multitalented artist, whose creative endeavors are among the most inventive and treasured of our time.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Maurice Sendak
344 books2,129 followersMaurice Bernard Sendak was an American writer and illustrator of children's literature who is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963. An elementary school (from kindergarten to grade five) in North Hollywood, California is named in his honor.
Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, and decided to become an illustrator after viewing Walt Disney's film Fantasia at the age of twelve. His illustrations were first published in 1947 in a textbook titled Atomics for the Millions by Dr. Maxwell Leigh Eidinoff. He spent much of the 1950s working as an artist for children's books, before beginning to write his own stories.
Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, and decided to become an illustrator after viewing Walt Disney's film Fantasia at the age of twelve. His illustrations were first published in 1947 in a textbook titled Atomics for the Millions by Dr. Maxwell Leigh Eidinoff. He spent much of the 1950s working as an artist for children's books, before beginning to write his own stories.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 13, 2017
Tracing Maurice Sendak's life and work from 1980 to the present, this illustrated volume is filled with projects in various mediums, both inside and outside the children's book arena. Reproduced here are lavish set and costume designs for a number of theatrical and dance productions, from The Nutcracker to The Magic Flute to The Love for Three Oranges. Also represented is artwork for numerous posters, CD covers, book jackets, and adult books, as well as children's picture books. Profusely illustrated, this book introduces Sendak's recent work, particularly in the theater, to a wider audience and pays tribute to his genius.
Playwright Tony Kushner, a longtime friend, and more recently, a collaborator with the artist, chronicles Sendak's work and provides new insights into his unique past. Using Sendak's journals, personal interviews, and a wealth of shared anecdotal experience, Kushner paints a singular portrait of a man with burning passion, acute sympathy, and a hunger for beauty. Readers are offered an intimate view into Sendak's personal and professional frustrations, as well as his triumphs.
https://books.google.com/books/about/...
Playwright Tony Kushner, a longtime friend, and more recently, a collaborator with the artist, chronicles Sendak's work and provides new insights into his unique past. Using Sendak's journals, personal interviews, and a wealth of shared anecdotal experience, Kushner paints a singular portrait of a man with burning passion, acute sympathy, and a hunger for beauty. Readers are offered an intimate view into Sendak's personal and professional frustrations, as well as his triumphs.
https://books.google.com/books/about/...
May 14, 2012
http://culapp.wordpress.com/2012/05/1...
I didn’t fully appreciate him until becoming an adult, perhaps proving his argument that he wasn’t the children’s author that people always thought. Like lots of people, i was raised on “Where the Wild Things Are” and used the term “wild rumpus” as often as possible but never took the effort to search out his other works. Not until a few years ago did i discover this wonderful book about him, written by none other than Tony Kushner (author of the play Angels in America, which was turned into the most beautiful miniseries of all time).
It opened my eyes to not only his sexuality, which did slightly blow my mind, but also his diverse body of work. On top of illustrating and writing his own books, he was also an illustrator for hire, a set-designer and costumer. Now, i have always loved everything about the Nutcracker. I never saw the ballet as a youngster, but the music and the story always thrilled me. After seeing the costumes and design work he did for a touring performance of it in 1983, my whole concept of what that show could look like was thrown out the window and replace with Sendak’s image of a giant, grimacing, horrifying and powerful Nutcracker visage.
The depth he brought to work typically aimed at children is what makes him such a lasting figure. Like Bill Watterson (creator of Calvin & Hobbes), Michael Ende (author of The Neverending Story), Lewis Carroll and the poet William Blake, he discussed very heavy ideas about life, death, eternity, politics and the plasticity of reality in ways that were accessible to young people and at the same time challenging to older people; feeding young people ideas others might try to protect them from while simultaneously reminding adults about the wonders some of us have grown away from.
I didn’t fully appreciate him until becoming an adult, perhaps proving his argument that he wasn’t the children’s author that people always thought. Like lots of people, i was raised on “Where the Wild Things Are” and used the term “wild rumpus” as often as possible but never took the effort to search out his other works. Not until a few years ago did i discover this wonderful book about him, written by none other than Tony Kushner (author of the play Angels in America, which was turned into the most beautiful miniseries of all time).
It opened my eyes to not only his sexuality, which did slightly blow my mind, but also his diverse body of work. On top of illustrating and writing his own books, he was also an illustrator for hire, a set-designer and costumer. Now, i have always loved everything about the Nutcracker. I never saw the ballet as a youngster, but the music and the story always thrilled me. After seeing the costumes and design work he did for a touring performance of it in 1983, my whole concept of what that show could look like was thrown out the window and replace with Sendak’s image of a giant, grimacing, horrifying and powerful Nutcracker visage.
The depth he brought to work typically aimed at children is what makes him such a lasting figure. Like Bill Watterson (creator of Calvin & Hobbes), Michael Ende (author of The Neverending Story), Lewis Carroll and the poet William Blake, he discussed very heavy ideas about life, death, eternity, politics and the plasticity of reality in ways that were accessible to young people and at the same time challenging to older people; feeding young people ideas others might try to protect them from while simultaneously reminding adults about the wonders some of us have grown away from.
September 24, 2016
This book starts out with an apology from the author for subbing a playwrite for a proper academic author, but I didn’t take them too seriously since I figured that anyone with a passion for Maurice Sendak’s work would write a decent book. Unfortunately, that was not the case at all, and I found myself so frustrated with the random tangents that the author went off on that I stopped reading entirely and just focused on the artwork. Even more unfortunate is that the artwork portrayed in this book doesn’t really do Sendak justice, or even present much of a range… It’s really too bad, since this book was supposed to act as a companion volume for Selma Lanes’ book (which chronicles Sendak’s early career), but falls far short of her concise and informative prose and the well-presented page design.
May 15, 2014
This book is an extremely interesting read for fans of Maurice Sendak.
While the writing isn't a phenomenal masterpiece, the overall collection of Sendak's art truly is.
The photographs are brilliant and really let you see a side of Sendak that frankly I didn't know existed before now.
While the writing isn't a phenomenal masterpiece, the overall collection of Sendak's art truly is.
The photographs are brilliant and really let you see a side of Sendak that frankly I didn't know existed before now.
October 5, 2011
I would give this a five for the information and illustrations, but I don't like it much when an author wastes 90% of their book pontificating.
April 16, 2013
Lots of Sendak art reproductions and texts describing them, their production and their reasons for being. A beautiful book. 4/15/2013
July 4, 2013
beautiful collection of sendak's work, presented by tony kushner. rare glimpse of sendak's journal entries and opera set/costume designs. really great.
July 30, 2013
Lovely big, bold colorful images of Sendak's incredible art. The information is appropriate and engaging. Nicely done.
August 4, 2016
Стара косабака і помирає мама- намалюй історію, кризис в житті- намалюй історію! знайшов і відфоткав дівчинку, яка би пасувала героїнею книги
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews