Maurice Sendak Original Signed Drawing for "Wild Things Are Happening", Bell Atlantic Campaign

Maurice Sendak Highly Detailed Original Graphite drawing on thick vellum for Bell Atlantic’s Wild Things Are Happening Campaign: Turtles, Executed in 1997. The piece includes a protagonist girl caricature and “Bernard the Bull” Wild Thing sitting on the beach with the girl, surrounded with images of the ocean in the background and turtles and sea stars on the sand. An incredibly warm, joyful piece. Created for the promotional campaign of Bell Atlantic, introducing its services, from phone service to calling plans and high-speed internet data from 1997-1998, including billboards, television spots, massive print ads, culminating in their sponsoring a giant “Moishe” Wild Thing balloon for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade down Fifth Avenue in New York City. The campaign won an Effie award and a Clio award for Sendak’s print ad illustrations. This was the most commercial use of the Wild Things which drew raves and mixed reviews from die-hard fans. Reference: Schiller/David: Maurice Sendak, A Celebration of the Artist and his Work, 2013. Page 99, see panel 9.

A stunning, important piece completely entrenched in the historic campaign! Presented newly framed with a deep beveled mat, and a lovely rubbed silver frame, using all archival materials and UV glass. Sendak signed the piece in full signature in the bottom right corner of the art. Perfect for a collector of Maurice Sendak art. 

*Note we also have a spectacular original vintage commercial banner from the very same "Bell Atlantic campaign", found in the prior lot of this auction.

About "The Wild Things are Happening": Bell Atlantic’s Campaign by Aaron D. Weiner

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 ushered in an era of deregulation that provided increased choice and confusion for the average customer. Strange new technologies were emerging, and the long-distance carriers, as well as a plethora of small upstart companies were promising to offer these new services.

The regional Bell companies started merging to achieve the scale needed to compete in this dynamic marketplace- the 1997 merger of NYNEX and Bell Atlantic created the largest company of its kind.

There was concern that customers, already confused by rapid changes in the marketplace, would be intimidated by the prospect of dealing with a company as large as the newly merged Bell Atlantic. We knew that Bell Atlantic was a huge company, but that it also had the ability to provide tailored solutions and an unparalleled level of customer care.

Enter Maurice Sendak’s Caldecott Medal-winning Wild Things– the perfect allegory for a gentle giant (once tamed by Max’s magic trick, of course).In terms of actual production of the ads and animation, Maurice illustrated each of the five print ads and all of the billboards. The campaign won a highly coveted Effie award, which is given for campaigns that maintain excellence in creativity and marketing effectiveness, and Maurice also won a Clio award in 1998 for his print ad illustrations.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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