Wild Things Are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak

The most comprehensive survey of the work of Maurice Sendak, the most celebrated picture book artist of all time with previously unpublished archival materials

Published in conjunction with the eponymous Sendak retrospective touring museums in the United States and Europe in 202224,Wild Things Are Happeningemphasizes Maurice Sendaks relationship to the history of art and the influences of his art collecting on his images. It features previously unpublished sketches, storyboards and paintings that emphasize Sendaks creative processes.

Bringing together a broad diversity of perspectives on the award-winning artist, the book includes an extended essay by the renowned art historian Thomas Crow that traces the genesis and cultural contexts of Sendaks most famous book,Where the Wild Things Are. It also includes interviews and appreciations by many of Sendaks key collaborators, including Carroll Ballard, Michael Di Capua, John Dugdale, Spike Jonze, Twyla Tharp and Arthur Yorinks.

Maurice Sendak(19282012) was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland. A largely self-taught artist, Sendak wrote and illustrated over 150 books during his 60-year career, includingKennys Window,Very Far Away,The Sign on Rosies Door,Nutshell Library(consisting ofChicken Soup with Rice, Alligators All Around, One Was JohnnyandPierre),Higglety Pigglety Pop!,Where the Wild Things Are,In the Night KitchenandOutside Over There. He collaborated with such celebrated authors as Meindert DeJong, Tony Kushner, Randall Jarrell, Ruth Krauss, Else Holmelund Minarik and Isaac Bashevis Singer, and he illustrated classics by the Brothers Grimm, Melville and Tolstoy.