Arts & Entertainment

The works of Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak is the famed author and illustrator of over 100 picture books of childrens literature, including the 1963 classic Where the Wild Things Are.

Sendak, now 81 years old, was born in Brooklyn in 1928, the youngest of three children. His parents, poor Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, suffered greatly from the loss of many family members in Poland during the Holocaust.

Sendak himself serves as the visitors guide through this landscape of hidden narratives. Interspersed throughout the artworks are touch screens where visitors can activate clips of interview footage in which Sendak elaborates on a range of topics from his creative process to his childhood use of storytelling to gain acceptance with neighborhood kids.

The exhibition is on view at the Contemporary Jewish Museum from September 8, 2009 January 19, 2010.

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The Contemporary Jewish Museum played host n 2010 to 'Theres a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak', a major retrospective of over 100 works by author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, who died on Tuesday.