UNTRIMMED PRESS SHEET OF SENDAK BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS 19 X 15" COLOR [FROM SENDAK'S PRIVATE ARCHIVES] FOR "PENTHESILEA,"

Harper Collins?. Fine with no dust jacket. c1997. First Edition. Comic book. art; Color Illustrations; Elephant Folio 23" tall; 1 pages; UNTRIMMED PRESS SHEET OF SENDAK BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS 19 X 15" COLOR [FROM SENDAK'S PRIVATE ARCHIVES] FOR "PENTHESILEA". Untrimmed press sheet of Maurice Sendak illustrations shown in the corresponding image (s). This is the complete series of 12 full-page illustrations to Heinrich von Kleist's tragedy "Penthesilea," printed in full color and published in book form 1998 by HarperCollins. This full sheet, printed only on one side and measures 19 x 25 inches, each design 4-5/8 x 3-1/4 inch arranged in four columns of three, with a vertical color-strip at the right fore-edge for accurate reproduction of the artist's original pencil and watercolor images. Whether this was intended for binding up into book format with the printed text or for use in creating a separate suite of images (for a deluxe edition, which was never produced) , we do not know, but it comes directly from the artist and is a wonderful curiosity filled with powerfully charged images as only Mr Sendak can create. The story is about an army of Amazons who set out to conquer Greek heroes for the purpose of impregnating themselves to bring forth new females to inhabit their all-woman state. They arrive in the midst of the Trojan War and totally confuse both Greeks and Trojans as to their intended mission, briefly forcing their enemies into an alliance for self-preservation. Then Achilles the Greek meets Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, and traditional roles reverse as Achilles is now the intended victim in a tragedy of love and war. This would be a great addition to any Sendak collection, though please be aware that these pictures show nudity and adult situations and are not intended for children. An unusual and powerful work by Sendak. Red objects in the picture are positioning magnets. .