“I refuse to cater to the bullshit of innocence,” the late author and illustrator Maurice Sendak said in 2011. Over his 60-year career, Sendak wrote more than 150 books, including Where the Wild Things Are (1963) and In the Night Kitchen (1970). He also made designs for operas, plays, films, and television, and collaborated with artists such as Tony Kushner. The child of Polish-Jewish immigrants who lost most of their family in the Holocaust, Sendak grew up in a difficult environment. Living with strict parents and the trauma they brought with them from Europe, he understood how hard childhood can be. He disagreed with the idea that adults should protect children with lies. Such beliefs were channeled into his work, as one can plainly see in Where the Wild Things Are. Sendak’s life, art, and inspirations are examined in this exhibition. —Jeanne Malle