The Providence Public Library is delighted to host a traveling exhibition, “In a Nutshell: The Worlds of Maurice Sendak,” from March 9th through April 20th. Sendak is best known as the illustrator of more than 100 books including Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen. Born in Brooklyn in 1928 to Polish immigrants, Sendak’s imaginative works were influenced by his family’s history and his Jewish identity. The themes of immigration, nostalgia, and urban life can be seen within his iconic illustrations of creatures, children and neighborhoods, featured on colorful panels in this exhibit.
“In A Nutshell” was organized by the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia and curated by Patrick Rodgers. The national tour was supported by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the David Berg Foundation, an anonymous donor, and Tablet Magazine.
On Sundays over the next few weeks, the library will hold a variety of additional programs related to the exhibit.
- March 11th: 2-4 pm. Opening reception. RISD English professor Mike Fink will deliver the keynote address: Genius is the Memory of Childhood.
- March 18th: 2-4 pm. The film Where the Wild Things Are will be screened in the library auditorium.
- March 25th: 2-3:30 pm. Joan Glazer, professor emeritus, Rhode Island College, will speak on Responses to Maurice Sendak’s Picture Books: Giggles, Gasps and Garlands.
- April 1st: 2-3:30 pm. Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges, RISD professor of illustration, will speak on Sendak and Illustration.
The exhibit will remain open during normal library hours.
(Image: Final drawing for In The Night Kitchen, Maurice Sendak, 1970. All Rights reserved).