In 1955 Sendak pitched Ursula Norstrom (the director of Harper & Row's Department of Books for boys and Girls) an idea for a picture book titled "Where the Wild Horses Are". Months into the process, when it became apparent that Sendak could not draw horses, he decided instead to draw monstrous "things". This gave him the freedom to conjure images from his imagination.
The inspiration for the "Wild Things" came from a childhood memory. Sendak remembered laughing with brother and sister about their European Jewish aunts and uncles:
"These people didn't speak English.
And they were unkempt. Their teeth
were horrifying...And they'd pick
you up and hug you and kiss you,
"Agggh. Oh we could eat you up."
And we know they would eat
anything anything, And so they're
the wild things."
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| costume designs Constantine Sekeris, for "Where the Wild Things Are" film directed by Spike Jonze 2009 coloured pencil on vellum |
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| image from unfashionedcreatures.blogspot.com |
Thank you for coming along with me on this visit with the works of Maurice Sendak.
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