A new monograph on Where The Wild Things creator Maurice Sendak is an exhaustive tour of the illustrator's huge archive, from sketches to finished artwork, with commentary from top writers.
It’s clear from this book that Where The Wild Things Are (first published 1963) populated Maurice Sendak’s career as energetically as it did the imaginations of generations of young readers. Sendak’s most famous book dominates his career like the Godzilla-proportioned Wild Thing on the cover. The monograph is packed with material from his studio archive, from sketches and story boards to costume designs and photographs. Where The Wild Things Are took on a life of its own outside the pages of the original book, becoming an animation, opera and full length motion picture by Spike Jonze in 2009.
Also represented are Sendak’s lesser known works. His highly detailed, fantastical — almost surrealist at times — style of illustration connects him with a historical tradition from Edward Lear to Arthur Rackham.
The scope of Sendak's work and his 60-year career is explored in twelve essays by writers and historians including design critic supremo Steve Heller and celebrated folklorist Iona Opie.
Maurice Sendak: Celebrating The Artist and His Work, by Justin G. Schiller and Dennis M. V. David.
Published by Abrams & Chronicle, £25.00