Today, Google celebrated the 85th Anniversary with a Google Doodle on their homepage on 10 June, 2013.
Maurice Bernard Sendak was an American illustrator and writer of children’s books. He became widely known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, first published in 1963, one of the best-loved picture books of all time.
Maurice Bernard Sendak was born on June 10, 1928 Brooklyn and he died on May 8, 2012.Sendak described his childhood as a “terrible situation” because of his extended family’s dying in The Holocaust, which exposed him at an early age to death and the concept of mortality.[4] His love of books began at an early age when he developed health problems and was confined to his bed.
Work Life Sendak gained international acclaim after writing and illustrating Where the Wild Things Are. The book’s depictions of fanged monsters concerned some parents when it was first published, as his characters were somewhat grotesque in appearance. Before Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak was best known for illustrating Else Holmelund Minarik’s Little Bear series of books.
Sendak later recounted the reaction of a fan:
A little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters – sometimes very hastily – but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, ‘Dear Jim: I loved your card.’ Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said: ‘Jim loved your card so much he ate it.’ That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.
Influences
Maurice Sendak drew inspiration and influences from a vast number of painters, musicians and authors. Going back to his childhood, one of his earliest memorable influences was actually his father, Philip Sendak. According to Maurice, his father would relate tales from the Bible; however, he would embellish them with racy details. Not realizing that this was inappropriate for children, little Maurice would frequently be sent home after retelling his father’s “softcore Bible tales” at school.
Growing up, Sendak developed from other influences, starting with Walt Disney’s Fantasia and Mickey Mouse. Sendak and Mickey Mouse were born in the same year and Sendak described Mickey as a source of joy and pleasure while growing up. He has been quoted as saying, “My gods are Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Mozart. I believe in them with all my heart.” Elaborating further, he has explained that reading Emily Dickinson’s works helps him to remain calm in an otherwise hectic world: “And I have a little tiny Emily Dickinson so big that I carry in my pocket everywhere. And you just read three poems of Emily. She is so brave. She is so strong. She is such a passionate little woman. I feel better.” Likewise, of Mozart, he has said, “When Mozart is playing in my room, I am in conjunction with something I can’t explain. [...] I don’t need to. I know that if there’s a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart.”
Personal life
Sendak mentioned in a September 2008 article in The New York Times that he was gay and had lived with his partner, psychoanalyst Dr. Eugene Glynn, for 50 years before Glynn’s death in May 2007. Revealing that he never told his parents, he said, “All I wanted was to be straight so my parents could be happy. They never, never, never knew.” Sendak’s relationship with Glynn had been mentioned by other writers before (e.g., Tony Kushner in 2003). In Glynn’s 2007 New York Times obituary, Sendak was listed as Glynn’s “partner of fifty years”. After his partner’s death, Sendak donated $1 million to the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in memory of Glynn who had treated young people there. The gift will name a clinic for Glynn.
Sendak was an atheist, and stated in a September 2011 interview with Terry Gross on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air that he didn’t believe in God. He went on to elaborate, and said among other things, “It [religion, and belief in God] must have made life much easier [for some religious friends of his]. It’s harder for us non-believers.”
Death
Sendak died on the morning of May 8, 2012, in Danbury, Connecticut, at the Danbury Hospital, from complications of a stroke. The New York Times obituary called Sendak “the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century.” Author Neil Gaiman remarked, “He was unique, grumpy, brilliant, gay, wise, magical and made the world better by creating art in it.” Author R. L. Stine called Sendak’s death “a sad day in children’s books and for the world.” “We are all honored to have been briefly invited into his world,” remarked comedian Stephen Colbert.
The 2012 season of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” for which Sendak designed the set, was dedicated to his memory.
His final book, Bumble-Ardy, was published eight months before his death. A posthumous picture book, titled My Brother’s Book, was published in February 2013
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