Art of Maurice Sendak:

by Selma G. Lanes

Book Overview

261 Illustrations, including 94 plates in full color + 3 full color fold-outs; includes Index and Bibliography. Maurice Sendak is perhaps best known for his Caldecott Medal winner, Where the Wild... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810916002
• ISBN13: 9780810916005
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: ABRAMS
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 5.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Every piece of art is a gem, but the biography...ugh.

Let me tell you straight up that if you like any of Maurice Sendak's drawings, this book is an instant treasure. There are so many illustrations in this book that you could spend weeks looking over them and still find something new on any given day. Getting 100% full pages of art from Where the Wild Things Are is enough, but finding out that it was originally going to be Where the Wild Horses Are and getting some artwork from that version? I was blown away. And that's just the mist around the tip of the iceberg! When it comes down to it, there's something here for everyone- the art is diverse, though that's to be expected from Mr. Sendak, and it's presented in a professional manner with no clutter or annoying lack of organization. However, the biography by Selma Lanes had me shaking my head after just a few sentences. As others have pointed out, she's bonkers for the guy and respects his privacy so much that it's downright pointless for her to even be talking about him at all. Many of the stories for the art get to the point where she does everything but get down on her hands and knees and worship the guy. I consider Maurice Sendak to be one of the greatest illustrators I've ever seen the work of, but come on. Nearly every paragraph had something that made me cringe with embarrassment. Basically, get this for the drawings and just ignore the text that isn't labeling the art, or isn't on the art itself. Heck, this book could've lost a pound or two if they skipped the bio! Regardless, this is a book that I hold dear and enjoy showing others to see just how far Mr. Sendak can go, but even then I look forward to another collection since he's still drawing.

An illustrator, artist, writer, making the history.

For many north american and japanese families, everyone must remember the legendary children book of their young age, "Where the wild things are" by Maurice Sendak. Well, Sendak didn't just draw and write his own children books. He did many other things before actually getting to the success he is at now.The book goes in detail about Sendak's personal life growing up in Brooklyn, New York, from his very early stage of life as a Polish American child to his approach as an artist at teenage age. The author talks about his influence from his parents and siblings, as well their struggle to survive the recessive economy in America. The author treats Sendak as an artist, who explores mostly around the writings and illustrations of children. The book shows many rare prints and drawings of Sendak. How Sendak plays with art materials and his creativity into both pictorial children books and editorial illustrations. Near the end of the book it also talks about his plans and drawings for theatre art, especially the opera for "Where the Wild Things Are". Something not everyone knew about! I would say this is a book for any illustration fan or artist to own. But don't get it for your kid, it is no children book, it is an artbook mostly aim for adults and collectors.

The Best picture book ever!!

This book is the best book ever my children love it! The pictures are awesome nothing can compare to Maurice Sendak's pictures.