On display May 6, 2008 - May 3, 2009

There’s a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak, a major retrospective of the work of artist/author Maurice Sendak. His own words will tell the story of how his work has evolved from "wild things" and "night kitchens" to opera stage designs and illustrating Herman Melville. Over his almost 60 year career, his books have grown increasingly complex and mysterious, raising questions that break the boundaries of children’s literature.

Drawing on the largest repository of his work in the world, this exhibition will show how Sendak masterfully mixes difficult childhood emotions and haunting personal memories with witty word play, colorful and animated imagery, and endearing characters. It will bring to life the magic of Sendak’s storytelling, and the push and pull between fantasy, reality and memory in his work. A visit to this exhibition will take you way beyond Where the Wild Things Are.

Click here to visit our online events calendar to see dates to watch out for.

Click here to enter our There's a Mystery There website!

To learn more about the exhibition and sponsorship opportunities it presents, please click here to download the prospectus. [PDF, 7MB]

This exhibition was created thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The national tour is presented by HarperCollins Children's Books. Additional major support for the exhibition and related programming has been received from, Cozen O’Connor LLP, Dorothy Del Bueno, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, EwingCole, the Samuel S. Fels Fund, the Glenmede Trust Company, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, the Otto Haas Charitable Trust #2, Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC, the Hirsig Family Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, State Representative Babette Josephs and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Christian R. & Mary F. Lindback Foundation, Bernard and Judith Newman, The Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, administered by the University of the Arts, The Marilyn and Mickey Steinberg Foundation of the Ayco Charitable Foundation, and Lenore H. Steiner and Perry A. Lerner.

Image: Original artwork for I Saw Esau by Iona and Peter Opie. | © Maurice Sendak, 1984. All rights reserved.