Maurice Sendak’s children’s book about the mischief-making Max, who sets sail on a fantastical journey to an island inhabited by wild beasts, won the Caldecott Medal in 1964 and has since become a cultural touchstone. The American author and illustrator’s prolific career spanned 65 years, and the iconic picture book represents only a fraction of his life’s work.
With its Wild Things exhibition, the Denver Art Museum celebrates illustrator Maurice Sendak, photographed by Annie Leibovitz in 2011. PHOTO BY ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/TRUNK ARCHIVE
Maurice Sendak “Where the Wild Things Are” (watercolor, ink, graphite on paper, 1963), 93/4 inches by 22 inches. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MAURICE SENDAK FOUNDATION
The Denver Art Museum’s Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak exhibition features some 450 of his books, sketches, artworks, storyboards and paintings. “You read [the books] like you would read poems,” says Christoph Heinrich, the Denver Art Museum’s Frederick and Jan Mayer Director. “They are condensed wisdom about life, perception and the great questions of humanity, all presented with a very Sendakian sense for the whimsical, the nonsensical, the absurd.”
The exhibition’s main event is a room displaying the book’s original drawings, but you’ll also find 10-foot-tall beast costumes from Spike Jonze’s 2009 film adaptation and tiny “fantasy sketches” Sendak created while listening to Mozart. The exhibition deftly traces the origins of Sendak’s inspiration behind characters, books and illustrations. The portly chefs from In the Night Kitchen were inspired by Oliver Hardy of Laurel and Hardy. The 1970 picture book was often censored or banned as Mickey, the main character, loses his pajamas, leaving the toddler naked for most of the narrative. Outside Over There drew a dark inspiration both from the Grimm fairy tale The Goblin and the 1932 kidnapping of aviator Charles Lindbergh’s toddler, a real-life drama that haunted Sendak. He also drew inspiration from William Blake, Herman Melville, Beatrix Potter and even Mickey Mouse.
To spend the night in a room where a forest may or may not grow overnight, book a Wild Things package at the Art Hotel (thearthotel.com), which includes two exhibition tickets, a hardcover edition of Wild Things, welcome truffles and a note from Max. The exhibition will remain on view at the DAM through Feb. 17, 2025.
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