Wild Things artist Sendak’s work on display

Courtesy Image © Maurice Sendak, 1963.  All rights reserved.
Final drawing for Where the Wild Things Are, written by Maurice Sendak. Pen and ink, watercolor. New York, 1963. © Maurice Sendak, 1963.

by Gina Rullo, Gazette Staff Writer
 

The Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia will present There’s a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak from May 6, 2008 through May 3, 2009. This major retrospective of more than 130 pieces pulled from the museum’s vast Maurice Sendak collection – the largest collection of “Sendakiana” in the world – will feature original artwork, rare sketches, never-before-seen working materials and interview footage.
The exhibition will draw on a total of more than 300 objects, with new works on display every four months, providing a unique experience with each set of illustrations. Sendak, famed author and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are and 108 other books, once praised Herman Melville’s writings, saying, “There’s a mystery there, a clue, a nut, a bolt, and if I put it together, I find me.”
The Rosenbach invites visitors to discover the mystery and magic of Sendak’s work for themselves with an exhibition that unveils an intimate portrait of a masterful storyteller engaging with difficult themes such as childhood anxiety, war, poverty, and the Holocaust.
The exhibition will include original artwork and books by Sendak and will use audio and visual technologies to convey his working process and inspirations as an artist. Programs and events such as the Sendak in Spring festival, gallery talks, a teacher workshop, and a celebration in honor of Sendak’s 80th birthday will complement the exhibition throughout the spring and summer of 2008.
There’s a Mystery There will take visitors on a tour through Sendak’s prolific imagination by exploring the characters, influences and settings of his richest stories, as well as his quest to illustrate what he calls “the Other Story,” the hidden meanings of a text. From his simplest sketches to his most complex books, visitors will confront the most poignant, humorous and haunting aspects of Sendak’s work throughout four galleries and two floors of the historic house and museum – the Rosenbach’s largest exhibition to date.
To better understand the complexities of Sendak’s creative identity over his 60-year career, visitors will be able to access new interview footage with the artist via touch-screen panels in each gallery. These interviews and Sendak’s original art will take visitors through his unique vision of illustrating and his mental landscape of influences that range from Herman Melville and William Blake, to family photographs and the nightly news. The exhibition will trace his origins and impact as a storyteller while treating visitors to rare stories of the artist’s own life, work and inspirations.
Maurice Sendak chose the Rosenbach to be the repository for his work in the early 1970s, thanks to shared literary and collecting interests. The collection of nearly 10,000 works of art, manuscripts, books and ephemera, has been the subject of many exhibitions and has been enjoyed by visitors of all ages.
One of the most famous creators of contemporary children’s books, Maurice Sendak’s work has challenged the norms of children’s literature over time and continues to entrance both children and adults to this day.
His innovative techniques and honest portrayal of childhood emotion are celebrated worldwide and have earned him several prestigious honors, including the Caldecott Book Medal (1964), the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal (1970), the National Medal of Arts (1996), a Library of Congress “Living Legend” medal (2000), and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature (2003).
Exhibition highlights include:
• Original color artwork from books such as Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, The Nutshell Library, Outside Over There, and Brundibar.
• “Dummy” books filled with lively preliminary sketches for titles like The Sign on Rosie’s Door, Pierre, and Higglety, Pigglety, Pop!
• Never-before-seen working materials, such as newspaper clippings that inspired Sendak, family portraits, photographs of child models and other ephemera.
• Rare sketches for stories never completed, such as Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw.
• Unique materials from the Rosenbach collection that relate to Sendak’s work, including an 1853 edition of the Tales of the Brothers Grimm, sketches by William Blake, and Herman Melville’s bookcase.
• Stories told by the master illustrator himself on topics like Alice in Wonderland, his struggle to illustrate his favorite novels, hilarious stories of Brooklyn, and the way his work helps him exorcise childhood traumas.
There’s a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak is curated by consulting curator Patrick Rodgers with the support of the Rosenbach’s exhibition team.
Sendak on Sendak: There’s a Mystery There was created thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The national tour is presented by HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Additional major support for the exhibition and related programming has been received from the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation, the Otto Haas Charitable Trust #2, and the Hirsig Family Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation.
The Rosenbach Museum & Library is located at 2008-2010 Delancey Place in Philadelphia and is open Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and groups of 10 or more, $5 for students and children ages 5-18, and free for children under 5. For more information, please call (215) 732-1600 or visit www.rosenbach.org. After completing its Philadelphia run in April 2009, this exhibition will travel to three other American venues over the next several years.
The Rosenbach Museum & Library seeks to inspire curiosity, inquiry, and creativity by engaging broad audiences in exhibitions, programs and research based on its remarkable and expanding collections. The museum was founded by legendary book dealer A.S.W. Rosenbach and his brother and business partner Philip. With an outstanding collection of rare books, manuscripts, furniture, and art, the Rosenbach is a museum and world-renowned research library, set within two historic 1865 townhouses, that reflects an age when great collectors lived among their treasures.