With his first George and Martha book, James was already entirely himself. Tomi Ungerer and skillfully, hilariously, Marshall it. He borrowed and swiped - we all do, we all must - and it was riveting to watch James stalk, attack and drain away the riotous madness from a favorite Of the 1930's and the solemn, mock-serious tone of English books of the same period. He relished the extraordinary wit and brevity of French children's books The inspiration for these two tender hippos goes back to James's shrewd appraisal of those books that most stimulated his impatient, creative intellect. All these qualities were generously funneled into his work, and there is no better example than the George and Martha books to showcase the dazzling kaleidoscope of Marshalliana.
James scolded, gossiped, bitterly reproached, but always loved and forgave. He was a wicked angel and will be missed forever. People who, I'm certain, feel the same way. I think myself the luckiest of men to have shared his sweet warmth and confidence. If I remember with terrible pain my lost friend and colleague, it is only because James raised the art of friendship to an exhilarating height. Pictures were always pure, authentic Marshall. The voice, the pulse, the heart of his words and James the perfect friend was indistinguishable from James the perfect artist. Perhaps best of all, his work was enriched by his enormous capacity for friendship. James paid close attention to the history of his craft he loved ''the business'' and brought to it his passion for music and literature, his sly comic timing, a delicate sense of restraint and order, and that eerie instinct for just Marshall is the last ofĪ long line of masters that began in the late 19th century with the pre-eminent English illustrator, Randolph Caldecott then continued in our century with Jean de Brunhoff in France and Edward Ardizzone in England and then via Tomi UngererĪrrived full blast in America, where the laurel wreath settled finally, splendidly, on the judicious, humane, witty and astonishingly clever head of James Marshall. Given this minefield of confusions and uncertainties, when such a work turns out looking as easy as a James Marshall picture book, it says everything about the man. The pictureīook is a picture puzzle, badly misunderstood by critics and condescended to by far too many as merely a trifle for ''the kiddies.'' Children are routinely patronized, and thus so are we who spend our creative livesĮntertaining them and nourishing their spirit. He picture book is a peculiar art form that thrives on genius, intuition, daring and a meticulous attention to its history and its various, complex components. NovemBOOKEND / By MAURICE SENDAK James Marshall, Wicked Angel
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