Maurice Sendak

[calimac]

Maurice Sendak has died. You remember him. He played the second rabbi from the left in the miniseries of Angels in America. (No, really, he did.)

No, wait: he was the guy who wrote and illustrated the Nutshell Library, by far his most charming achievement. (Remember those? One Was Johnny? Alligators All Around? Chicken Soup With Rice?)


Ah, yes, he was the artist whose illustrated edition of The Hobbit proved abortive and was never completed. Too bad, for despite the inaccurate relative sizes of Gandalf and Bilbo (which may have been the sticking point in the project), this equally charming illustration is what it was going to look like:

Comments

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I agree about The Nutshell Library. I'd never seen the Hobbit illustration, but it looks intriguing. I enjoyed The Juniper Tree as well (his Grimm collection).

[milwaukeesfs.livejournal.com]

Actually, given his stance and the length of his arms, it appears that Gandalf is down on one knee talking to Bilbo, which would make the relative size pretty normal when he stood up.