Christie's is presenting an unprecedented opportunity to explore the images and ideas that fed the imagination of one of the most beloved picture book artists in history, the late Maurice Sendak, whose books have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.
Maurice Sendak, Artist, Collector, Connoisseur includes a live auction on 10 June - which would have been Sendak's 97th birthday - and an online auction 29 May-10 June 2025. The works will be on view at Christie's 6-10 June 2025. For more information about Maurice Sendak as a collector, please see, Inside the world of Maurice Sendak.
Christie's is presenting more than 100 works by artists who inspired Sendak, as well as almost 30 original works by Sendak himself. As a brilliant draftsman and visionary artist who disseminated his art through books, Sendak was drawn to prints, drawings, and books of the Romantic era at the end of the 18th and first half of the 19th century, but Sendak's taste ranged across the past 500 years and from textiles, to toys, to Chinese ceramics.
The sale offers some of the great names in art history: Dürer, Rembrandt, Picasso, and Hockney with a special emphasis on British artists, including William Blake, but also George Stubbs, Henry Fuseli, and Samuel Palmer. There are works by children's authors including Beatrix Potter and Eric Carle, as well as objects featuring Sendak's lifelong inspiration, Mickey Mouse. You can see the influence these works had in the indelible images and words Sendak created. William Blake is present in Sendak's visionary storytelling through poetry and image; George Stubbs and Beatrix Potter echo in the drama and humor of the animals and mythic creatures that populate the landscapes of Sendak's imagination and, through him, those of generations of children and adults around the world.
To help ensure that children will continue to be enchanted by the next generation of visual storytellers, these sales will support the Sendak Fellowship, a residency programme at The Maurice Sendak Foundation, a nonprofit organization that encourages, teaches and supports artists who tell stories with illustration.
The International Head of the Prints & Multiples Department, Richard Lloyd, said: "Many of us, if given the chance to ask any artist just one question, would choose: what inspired you? For those curious about Maurice Sendak, this sale provides a fascinating and surprising answer. Much of Sendak's inspiration came from English pastoral artists working more than two centuries ago. His enchanting imaginative landscapes, which have captivated generations of readers, are deeply rooted in these beautiful yet rarely seen works."
Images: Copyright Christie's Images Ltd