Maurice Sendak

Original Sendak Animation Cel from PIERRE, "I DONT CARE" (CBS 1970s)

Dubbed by one critic “the Picasso of children’s literature” and once addressed by former President Bill Clinton as “the King of Dreams,” Maurice Sendak illustrated nearly a hundred picture books throughout a career that spanned more than 60 years. Some of his best known books include Chicken Soup with Rice (1962), Where the Wild Things Are (1963), and In the Night Kitchen (1970). 

Born in Brooklyn in 1928 to Jewish immigrant parents from northern Poland, Sendak was a largely self-taught artist. His characters, stories, and inspirations were drawn from among his own neighbors, family, pop culture, historical sources, literary influences, and long-held childhood memories. Along with William Steig, Ludwig Bemelmans and Laurent de Brunhoff he is one of the most popular authors of children’s books in the world.

Sendak worked with such well-known children’s authors as Ruth Krauss, Else Minarik, and Arthur Yorinks, and illustrated books by Leo Tolstoy, Herman Melville, Isaac Bashevis Singer, the Brothers Grimm, and the poet Randall Jarrell. He began a second career as a costume and stage designer in the late 1970s, designing operas by Mozart, Prokofiev, Ravel, and Tchaikovsky, among others. 

Sendak won numerous awards, including a Caldecott Award, the international Hans Christian Andersen Award, a National Book Award, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and a National Medal of Arts. His books continue to be read by millions of children and adults and have been translated into dozens of languages and enjoyed all over the world.

Find original Maurice Sendak prints, paintings and other art for sale on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Lions Gallery)