Cover of Maurice Sendak’s ‘Ten Little Rabbits,’ a 32-page count-along book based on a pamphlet the late author-illustrator originally created for a fundraiser for the Rosenbach Museum, will be released on February 6, 2024. Image courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers
NEW YORK (AP) – A Maurice Sendak picture story, originally a pamphlet for a 1970 museum fundraiser, will be coming out in book form next year.
Maurice Sendak, ‘Hillbilly Wild Thing, Moishe Illustration Study.’ Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions, ha.com
DALLAS — Maurice Sendak, perhaps the greatest children’s book author and illustrator of our time, has more in common with the Brothers Grimm than most would admit. But Sendak would admit it, being a fan of the Grimms’ grim tales to the point of collecting and illustrating them. Like the Grimms, Sendak was interested in the way the world looks and feels to kids who have to negotiate it, and he knew that stories could tell us some unvarnished and necessary truths about human nature (and nature itself) in a way that could fire their young imaginations while shooting straight about the hopes, fears, dangers and pleasures of growing up. After World War II, as Disney continued to clean up Grimm’s dark universe and kids books played it increasingly safe, Sendak went against the grain, and through his masterpieces such as Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, and Really Rosie gave us expansive, complicated, interesting kids with big interior worlds — stories that did absolutely nothing to flatter the egos of grownups. In the process, Sendak became an American treasure. Sendak’s artwork is some of the most recognizable and beloved of the last century.
Ernie Barnes, ‘Quintet,’ estimated at $500,000-$700,000. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions, ha.com
DALLAS — Heritage Auctions‘ Diverse Visions: Important Works by American Masters Signature® Auction, taking place Friday, May 12, promises much and is sure to deliver. Works in the sale represent the apex of American artistic achievement, with a host of both expected and unexpected pieces by names that make collectors and institutions sit up and pay attention: George Bellows, Charles White, George Tooker, Maurice Sendak and Winslow Homer. There are only 68 lots in the May 12 lineup, and each one of them is remarkable. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
1976 Maurice Sendak illustration for a Rolling Stone cover, estimated at $120,000-$180,000. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions
DALLAS – Works by Maurice Sendak, Mark Rothko, Maynard Dixon, Thomas Moran and the self-taught artist Howard Finster all appear in Heritage Auctions‘ much-anticipated American Art Signature® Auction, scheduled for Friday, November 4. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Installation photograph of the exhibit Wild Things are Happening, courtesy of the Columbus Museum of Art
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Most people today know artist Maurice Sendak as the creator of children’s book classics such as Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen. A new exhibition of his work looks at that reputation and a less well-known side of his immense output: his work as a designer for opera, theater, film and television.
Selling well above its high estimate, this oil-on-board by Amos Sewell, titled ‘Back to School,’ achieved $90,000 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2019. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
NEW YORK — Goodbye swimsuits, hello backpacks. The arrival of the end of August and the Labor Day weekend signifies the unofficial end of summer as schools ready to reopen. There’s no better time to look at classic children’s books that have become fixtures of school classrooms and libraries and delighted families at home.
Signed, uncorrected advance proof of the Maurice Sendak book ‘We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy,’ est. $1,250-$1,500
DANVERS, Mass. – JG.Limited, the recently-formed auction arm of the venerable collectibles powerhouse JG Autographs, Inc., is holding its inaugural online-only sale through Tuesday, August 23. The 500-lot History & Culture auction features items relating to JFK, Thomas Jefferson, the Wright Brothers and Harry Truman. View the fully illustrated catalog on LiveAuctioneers.
Left: Maurice Sendak, ‘Let the Wild Rumpus Start! (Happy Birthday Wild Things!),’ $212,500; Right: Rembrandt Peale portrait of George Washington, $591,000. Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions
DALLAS – Spanning George Washington to the Wild Things, Heritage Auctions’ latest American Art Signature® Auction set numerous auction records May 10 on its way to a $6 million finish.
J.C. Leyendecker, ‘First Long Suit,’ est. $300,000-$500,000. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions
DALLAS – Heritage Auctions will soon hold one of the most comprehensive – and jubilant – American art events in recent memory. In the words of Senior Vice President Aviva Lehmann, the May 10 American Art Signature® Auction, featuring 150 works, is “a museum-quality auction showing off our strength and ability to curate a perfect sale that covers every genre of American art.” Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Norman Rockwell, ‘Home for Thanksgiving,’ $4.3 million
DALLAS – Norman Rockwell’s Home for Thanksgiving has a new home, just in time for Thanksgiving, as the beloved painting of a doting mother and her soldier son peeling potatoes sold Friday at Heritage Auctions for more than $4.3 million.
