Maurice Sendak, the visionary writer and artist behind Where The Wild Things Are, has died at the age of 83.
Inspired as a child by Disney's Fantasia, Sendak became famous for his love of grotesque imagery and his unwillingness to make characters cute or situations safe, saying he refused to lie to children about the way the world is. As well as authoring several books and working as a theatrical designer, he worked in television, collaborating with Jim Henson, and produced a short animated film of his own. Imagery inspired by the films he loved suffuses his books.
Sendak had recently suffered a stroke and was in increasingly poor health. His partner, Eugene Glynn, died five years ago. Despite entertaining children all over the world, the author had none of his own but gave extensive support to the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, the most likely beneficiary of his estate.
