The Chertoff Mural, drawn by Maurice Sendak in 1961, was given to the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia by Nina and Larry Chertoff in memory of Roslyn and Lionel Chertoff and Eugene Glynn. Mr. Sendak was friends with Roslyn and Lionel dating back to the 1950s and painted the mural for their kids, Nina and Larry, who in turn donated it when their parents had both died. The library hired a conservation firm to remove the wall containing the mural — which will be staying at the Rosenbach.
A large collection of Maurice Sendak’s work — 10,000 pieces, to be exact — will be moved to the author’s estate on Chestnut Hill Road beginning next month with plans for a museum to be established on the site.
The collection has been located at the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia since 1968 when the young illustrator began stashing his manuscripts, drawings, and photographs at the institution. However, it became property of the Maurice Sendak Foundation upon the author’s death in 2012.
“It is my wish that the Maurice Sendak Foundation Inc. operate said property as a museum or similar facility to be used by scholars, students, artists, illustrators and writers,” Mr. Sendak wrote in his will.
The Rosenbach announced last week that its current exhibition of the work — Sendak in the Sixties — would be its final showing of the work before it is carefully shipped to Ridgefield. The exhibition ends Nov. 2.
“Coordinating a move like this takes a lot of work — it won’t happen all at once,” said Patrick Rodgers, curator of the Maurice Sendak Collection at the Rosenbach. “We’re talking about 10,000 pieces; it could take many, many months.”
Mr. Rodgers, who visited and interviewed Mr. Sendak at his Ridgefield home six times since 2007, said that each piece of work requires a condition transfer report that is standard protocol for any work before it enters or leaves the building.
“Each report takes five minutes, at least,” he explained. “That’s five times 10,000, we’re looking at hundreds of hours of work…
“It’s a lot of checkpoints,” he added.
Future plans
Despite working closely with the collection for the last seven years, Mr. Rodgers had a limited knowledge about its future under the foundation’s supervision in Ridgefield.
“I don’t know their specific plans but that’s where it’s heading,” he said. “It could be a new building — a museum dedicated to all the work that’s coming — or it could just be an exhibit in one of the rooms in his home.
“I believe his will mentioned building a study center that uses his work so maybe that’s what they want to do…
“Either way, they have a lot of work to do on that front,” he added. “They’re probably considering lot of different options.”
Lynn Caponera, one the trustees of Mr. Sendak’s estate, was out of the country this week and wasn’t available to comment about the future of the collection, according to a member of the foundation.
Mr. Rodgers said that the move to Ridgefield was inevitable and that he’s been planning around it since July when the estate notified the museum that it was recalling the entire collection.
“The foundation had the ability to recall the work at any time within a five-day window,” he explained. “It was a deposit, not a donation, and we were always sensitive that this was owned by somebody else.”
First Selectman Rudy Marconi said he had not heard of any plans about a new museum dedicated to Mr. Sendak, but welcomed the idea.
“There hasn’t been any contact with the town thus far, and I’ve only read what everyone else has,” Mr. Marconi said Monday. “I’m assuming that if there’s a museum, it’ll be at his home on Chestnut Hill…
“From an economic development standpoint, something like it would bring people to that location and hopefully make Ridgefield even more of a destination,” he added. “With that said, I think what’s more important is that his life work be preserved and what better place than his home.”
Sendak and Rosenbach
Mr. Sendak first got involved with the Rosenbach in the late 1960s as he developed an appreciation for the collection left by brothers Philip and A.S.W. Rosenbach.
Sendak drew more than 30 books throughout the 1960s, including his most popular, Where the Wild Things Are in 1963.
His first show at the Rosenbach was in 1970 when he published In the Night Kitchen.
Over the years, his work became a staple of the museum with a Sendak exhibition scheduled every two to four months beginning in 1976.
“Not everything came at once but over the years trust was established and the collection kept growing and people started coming here specifically for him,” Mr. Rodgers said. “Obviously, all 10,000 pieces are not on display currently, but we’ve done over 70 exhibits with every theme under the sun.”
Those exhibits included themes such as Sendak’s love for dogs, the artists who inspired his work, and the characters in his books being ingested.
“One of the constants in his work is that characters are always eating or being eaten, so in 2009 we did an exhibit on that,” Mr. Rodgers said.
Personality
Mr. Rodgers said he was bothered by the perception that Mr. Sendak had a grumpy personality.
He first met him at his Ridgefield home in August 2007 and remembers being amazed by the size of his studio. However, he was most impressed by the author’s generosity and openness.
“Curmudgeon is the word people used to describe him — I didn’t find him that way,” he said. “I found him a remarkable storyteller who sucked you into whatever he was talking about.
“He was only hard to interview because you’d just sit there listening to him talk and be transcended into this whole other place,” he added. “I felt like a kid again listening to his stories and his opinions; I always found him to be really generous and accessible.”
600 works
Not all of Mr. Sendak’s work will leave the Rosenbach — about 600 pieces of original and printed work will remain there.
Mr. Rodgers said that the illustrator’s will did make a point to leave some of his materials at the Rosenbach, including one of two murals he ever painted — the Chertoff Mural, which he drew in 1961 — as well as his vast collection of rare books by authors such as Herman Melville and Henry James.
Also staying at the Rosenbach is Sendak’s collection of correspondence by others, including Mozart and the Brothers Grimm. He also left the museum articles from his Mickey Mouse collection.
“Everything that the estate owns will go back,” he said. “But the Rosenbach has purchased pieces and received gifts from Maurice so we’ll still have some of his work after the majority leaves us…
“He gave us a huge amount of freedom while the collection was here and we appreciate that and all he has given us,” he added. “The rare book collection will be merged with our collections and maintained in the library.”
Mr. Rodgers said he didn’t know how the museum would present the other items it has purchased, but it does have the space — the Rosenbach has its own Maurice Sendak Building.
“Part of my job going forward is planning a new gallery in that space,” he said.“I will continue as the curator — it will just be a much smaller collection…
“He fit into so much of what we do here,” he added. “We’re going to miss that.”