Maurice Sendak didn’t lay out a specific agenda for his loved ones after he passed away in 2012. Instead, he said, “You’ll know what to do.” And they did. One of those actions was the formation of the Maurice Sendak Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving his legacy and celebrating the art of the picture book. The Foundation also runs the Sendak Fellowship, a residency for illustrators founded in 2010. Executive Director Lynn Caponera and Curator Jonathan Weinberg discuss how Sendak lives on.

Friends Tony Kushner, Lynn Caponera, and Jonathan Weinberg talk about how important Maurice Sendak’s Jewish heritage was to him. Jewish traditions found their way into Sendak’s daily life, books (including Where the Wild Things Are), and theater productions, and he celebrated and memorialized diverse associations with Jewish heritage, from humor to the Holocaust.

Maurice Sendak remembered and understood how difficult a time childhood is. Playwright Tony Kushner talks about how his friend never condescended to kids and approached his work with the thoughtfulness and respect that they deserve. Lynn Caponera and Jonathan Weinberg of the Maurice Sendak Foundation, who met Sendak as children, discuss their experiences as lifetime friends of the artist.