The Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia has sued the estate of Maurice Sendak, who died in 2012, claiming that the estate is withholding a collection of rare books that Sendak promised to the library in his will.
Sendak had a relationship of more than 40 years with the library, and placed thousands of his drawings on loan there. It was long expected that the works and many books in Sendak’s collection would remain there after his death. But his will specified that the loaned works would remain the property of his foundation. And in September, representatives of his estate withdrew the works, saying that they intended to create a museum dedicated to Sendak in Ridgefield, Conn., where Sendak lived, and where his foundation is based.
The Philadelpia Inquirer reported that the Rosenbach filed suit last week in state probate court in Connecticut, claiming that the estate has kept many rare books that Sendak pledged to the library in his will, including two highly valuable illuminated books by William Blake and a selection of Beatrix Potter books. In the lawsuit, the Rosenbach said that the estate, in private negotiations over the will, has said it intends to keep the Potter books because estate representatives consider them to be children’s books, not rare books, meaning that they are not included in Sendak’s bequest to the museum.
In legal papers, the Rosenbach points out that Sendak long argued that distinctions between adult literature and children’s literature were specious, and that the estate’s claim “either demonstrates that the executors are shockingly ignorant of Mr. Sendak’s views or is just a bad-faith effort on the part of the executors to manufacture some basis” to keep the books.
Derick Dreher, the Rosenbach’s director, was not immediately available to comment on Monday on the lawsuit. A lawyer who represents the Sendak estate’s executors did not immediately return a call.