The Chertoff Mural

Title: The Chertoff Mural

Year: 1961

Material: Paint on Plaster

Creator: Maurice Sendak

Collection: The Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia

Larry and Nina Chertoff were small children when their parents’ close friend, Maurice Sendak, aka “Uncle Moo Moo,” painted this playful parade of animals and children on the wall of their New York City apartment. Two lucky kids, right? Decades later, as they cleared out the apartment after their mother’s death, Larry and Nina feared that the mural would likely be painted over by new tenants. Knowing that the Rosenbach Museum and Library (now officially The Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia) housed much of Sendak’s work and would be an ideal home for the mural, the Chertoff’s contacted the museum.  Eager to ensure the mural's longevity, the museum convinced the building owner to permit conservators to remove an entire wall in order to move and preserve the artwork.

A conservator at work

It was an extensive and fascinating journey from the Upper West Side to Delancey Place that included lots of sawing, heavy lifting, conservation, repair and time…oh, and money. These videos here and here help to tell the whole story.

Clearly, the mural's importance has spread beyond the Chertoff family; book and art collectors, art conservators, illustrators, families, Rosenbach staff, and funders of the restoration project all top the list. The mural demonstrates Sendak’s techniques and compositional style and includes characters from his other works: The little girl appears to be Rosie from The Sign on Rosie’s Door, the dog (inspired by Sendak’s own dog Jennie) appears in several books, including Kenny’s Window and Where The Wild Things Are.

Currently the mural is displayed on a wall at center of the Sendak Gallery. Text panels and interactives below the image introduce the history of the object, how it was conserved (including video footage), and explores its characters (visitors can tap to read more about each character on a touch screen). The text and audio are presented in a narrative museum voice that is formal, yet accessible to both children and adults.

Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life (1967)

Framed black and white book illustrations line the opposing wall and provide deeper insight into Sendak’s characters and illustrations. Created between 1965-1970, these drawings demonstrate how the artist’s work evolved. By this period, Sendak felt that the children’s picture book industry had devolved into a cookie-cutter, money driven machine. In response, he continued to experiment and presented ideas and images that many considered to be subversive. 

More info

To enrich my exploration, I could watch additional videos about the mural, Sendak's other work, and interviews with the author online. Another strategy would be to camp out in the children's section of any Free Library branch and read every available Sendak book. Other authors have waxed poetic about Sendak and might be worth a read.






As a text label in the gallery notes, Sendak wasn’t afraid to challenge authority or convention, both in his images and text: “Sendak was direct when it came to formerly taboo presentations about race and ethnicity, children’s bodies, unconventional behaviors and , as with the Where the Wild Things- characters that frightened adults (but usually not kids).”  While it would be difficult to find fault with this playful mural, some people may feel some of Sendak’s other work is frightening or offensive, and be disinterested in the Chertoff mural by association.

Goblins from Outside Over There

Wild Things!

According to an article on thehistoryblog.com, this restoration project (including removal, transportation, conservation and installation) cost around $200,000.00.  Funding was provided by the William B. Dietrich Foundation, the Connelly Foundation, the McLean Contributionship, and individual contributions. To play the devil’s advocate for a minute,  was it financially worth it? Does the mural tell a strong enough story? How does its significance compare to other Sendak works? Sure, some of the characters might relate to other works by artist,  but the mural is a random collection of children and animals. Had it illustrated a scene directly from a book, perhaps it would be worth saving. I don’t support this opposing argument, particularly in light of the recent news that most of the Sendak collection will be leaving the Rosenbach. Now that it may be one of the remaining facets of the Sendak in the Rosenbach’s collection, Rosie, Jennie the dog, and the rest of the parade will continue to celebrate the author and honor the strong relationship he had with this great Philadelphia institution.

To further engage viewers with this object, I might create a scavenger hunt that challenges visitors (young audiences, in particular) to identify the mural's characters (or characters with similar characteristics) in works throughout the gallery. Additionally, prompted with questions like, “Where is the parade going?” “What occasion are they celebrating?” “How do you think these characters are feeling?” visitors (middle school aged to adults) could participate in a writing exercise. Perhaps this user-generated content could be then collected and shared on social media, or within an interactive in the exhibit. There is talk of the mural moving to the Central Branch of the Free Library, which could engage a larger audience and allow for new programming. No matter its home, I'm confident that this parade of characters will continue to resonate with audiences, young and old.