Family Dogs
Maurice Sendak and his partner, Eugene Glynn, considered their dogs to be family. A lifetime of pets made frequent appearances in Sendak’s books. When he was 25, Sendak adopted his first dog, a Sealyham terrier named Jennie. Her fatal sickness in 1967 inspired him to create Higglety Pigglety Pop!, a book that imagines animal consciousness to be as complex as any human’s.
Sendak and Glynn’s next two dogs, a golden retriever named Io and a German Shepherd named Erda, served as inspiration for Some Swell Pup, or Are You Sure You Want a Dog?, a training manual for aspiring young dog owners.
Some of their later German Shepherds were trained by the monks of New Skete in Cambridge, NY. As a tribute to Sendak, and with the support of The Maurice Sendak Foundation, the monastery named its dog training facility after him in 2016. The monks wrote of their friend, “Not only was he a lover of all things dog, he saw clearly their spiritual importance and how they can enrich our lives when they are cared for and loved.”
Study for No Nose
2012
Watercolor and pencil on paper
© The Maurice Sendak Foundation
In the last few months of his life, Sendak remained productive. He was still working every day on a picture book about a man in search of his lost nose. This drawing of the prologue to No Nose was the last sheet on Sendak’s desk at the time of his death.
Dona Ann McAdams
American, born 1954
Maurice Sendak with the 2010 Sendak Fellows
2010
Photograph
© Dona Ann McAdams
Maurice Sendak’s Legacy
“As a child I felt that books were holy objects, to be caressed, rapturously sniffed, and devotedly provided for. I gave my life to them.”
After Maurice Sendak’s passing in 2012, the Maurice Sendak Foundation was founded to promote his artistic legacy “by ensuring his books are in print and readily available in ideal editions, by preserving his home and studio, and by exhibiting his original art.”
With that mission, the foundation also became the Denver Art Museum’s ultimate partner in planning and executing the most comprehensive exhibition of Sendak’s work to date. We are most grateful for the collaboration with Lynn Caponera, the foundation’s Executive Director and President of the Board and Sendak’s assistant for over 40 years, and Jonathan Weinberg, PhD, Curator and Director of Research and the artist’s longtime friend and mentee. Supported by Leah McCloskey, Director of Operations & Program Manager, and researcher Virginia Caponera, the foundation helped with every aspect of this show, granting us access to unpublished and never shown artworks.
Teaching and mentoring authors and illustrators was important to Sendak. In his own career, legendary book editor Ursula Nordstrom and authors Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson were mentors, and he subsequently mentored many artists as a teacher and through The Sendak Fellowship that he founded in 2010. This residency “encourages, teaches and supports artists who tell stories with illustrations.” To date, 35 artists and illustrators have participated in this program and carry Maurice Sendak’s legacy into the future.
Oh please don’t go—we’ll eat you up—we love you so!
Exhibition Guide Chapters
Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak has been co-organized by the Denver Art Museum and the Columbus Museum of Art in partnership with The Maurice Sendak Foundation. It is curated by Jonathan Weinberg, PhD, Curator and Director of Research at The Maurice Sendak Foundation, and Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the Denver Art Museum.
This exhibition is presented by the Clarence V. Laguardia Foundation with additional support provided by the Tom Taplin Jr. and Ted Taplin Endowment, Bank of America, Jana and Fred Bartlit, Bernstein Private Wealth Management, Kathie and Keith Finger, Lisë Gander and Andy Main, Wendy and Bob Kaufman, the Kristin and Charles Lohmiller Exhibitions Fund, Sally Cooper Murray, John Brooks Incorporated, Kent Thiry & Denise O'Leary, Judi Wagner, an anonymous donor, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.
