01/13/2026
SENDAK and CALDECOTT
A watercolor in homage of his muse
Original ink and watercolor drawing depicting Moishe “Wild Thing”, Sendak’s avatar, mimicking the artist Randolph Caldecott’s self-caricature drawing from his period of sketching in Brittany (1870s), now given a garden backdrop and including “The Cat and the Fiddle”, Caldecott’s dog, and a blackbird aloft – with a Wild Thing to bring home the sentiment.
The design was commissioned by The Horn Book Magazine, a Boston based publication which since inception in 1924 used the “Three Jovial Huntsmen” Caldecott image (1880) on horseback blowing their horns, until in 1985 when the publication decided to invite a different illustrator to design new covers for a year – Maurice Sendak was their first choice, and Maurice continued their honoring Caldecott by his “Moishe and Randolph” interpretation.
The ink and watercolor drawing measures 9 x 6-1/4 inches on larger paper, Signed in full at bottom right, the initials “R.C.” and “M.S.” are on Caldecott’s sketchbook pages.
Aside from the image being used as the magazine cover, a poster limited to 300 signed and numbered copies was also produced.
Maurice Sendak was a Brooklyn-born artist, best remembered for his iconic book
“Where the Wild Things Are” published in 1963 and winner of The 1964 Randolph Caldecott Medal for the “most distinguished American picture book for children” given annually by the American Library Association’s Children Services division. Sendak has written and illustrated numerous children’s books, created designs for posters, prints, book covers, advertising campaigns and also many costume and set designs for opera and ballet.
This particular design honors Randolph Caldecott, one of the major illustrators of his day and one of the many major influences in Maurice’s canon of work.
Battledore Ltd
PO Box 2288
Kingston, NY 12402
www.childlit.com
914 316-8144
914 439-6020
