Ann Arnold

Maurice Sendak (10 June 1928 – 8 May 2012) considered the story of Hansel and Gretel to be “one of the scariest stories ever written”. Stephen King has retold the Brothers Grimm tale accompanied by the artwork of Maurice Sendak, created in 1997 for stagings of the Engelbert Humperdinck opera based on this classic story.

This edition of Hansel and Gretel represents an inspired collaboration between The Maurice Sendak Foundation and HarperCollins which allows the drawings Sendak originally made for sets, curtains and costumes to be seen for the first time as a picture book alongside King’s text. The invitation to write a new version of the Grimm tale intrigued King, who had his own connections to Sendak, having read his books to his children. King responded particularly to the drawing included above, stating, “To me, it was the essence of this story and, really, all fairy tales: a sunny exterior, a dark and terrible center, brave and resourceful children. In a way, I have been writing about kids like Hansel and Gretel for much of my life.”

Design, typography, and typesetting of Hansel and Gretel by Stephen Stinehour and Elvira Piedra. Stinehour Editions photographed the original Sendak drawings and prepared files and proofs for the publisher. We thank the amazing team at the Maurice Sendak Foundation: Lynn Caponera, Jonathan Weinberg, Leah McCloskey, Nathan Flis, Suzanne Murphy, Chloe Giroux and Virginia Caponera and all at HarperCollins.

HarperCollins has been publishing Maurice Sendak’s work since 1947 (Atomics for the Millions, by Maxwell Leigh Eidinoff). The people responsible for continuing this endeavor at HarperCollins are a dedicated team which includes Megan Ilnitzki, Nancy Inteli, Nicole Moulaison, Rick Farley and Dana Fritts.




Maurice Sendak HarperKids Books

Farwa Ali has written a lovely review of "Wrestling the Angel" which is richly illustrated with many reproductions of my paintings and some of the images from the film. She also shares wonderful insights from the filmmakers OneWorld Communications and Jonathan Villet about their work on this film as well as a background on their other projects. Please take a look:

Wrestling the Angel: Two Bay Area filmmakers compose an intimate portrait of a California artist at crossroads By Farwa Ali. (January 30, 2025) Graceful veined hands turn the seashell over a few times in reverent contemplation. A few moments later artist Ann Arnold tosses the seashell back into the…

Blue Butterfly
8 inch square, unfired ceramic tile

A test for a recent commission, I'll share the fired result soon. Over the last several months, I have been working on several commissions for the home– pieces set into fireplaces, bookcases, backsplashes, friezes. It's been wonderful designing these site-specific works incorporating motifs meaningful for the clients, and discovering new plants in the gardens of Berkeley and the creatures that share their habitat. This particular study has opened a new door to working with a paired back and timeless palette of blue and white. Please reach out if you would like to discuss a design for a special place in your home.

Please join me and filmmakers Jonathan Villet and Fiona McDougall for a special screening of Wrestling the Angel at
Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St, Berkeley, California
Sunday, November 2, 10:30–noon
The 23-minute film will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and myself.

"This film captures Ann in her element, speaking eloquently, and plainly, about many of the values she and I both share—beauty, simplicity, a love of nature, a love of food, consideration, the intricacies (and humanity) of the creative process and the transformational power of art.” --
Alice Waters

image: preliminary testing for "Jacob Wrestling the Angel", painting on 8 x 8 inches ceramic tile, unfired.

"Wrestling the Angel" will screen at Berkeley Public Library on November 2nd at 10 a.m. with a Q&A session immediately following with filmmakers Jonathan Villet and Fiona McDougall of OneWorld Communications and myself.

A recent review of the film:

My cousin Ann Arnold has always been a wonder to me -- such a good artist, such a good cook, such a good gardener, such a good mother, such a good camper (we meet most years on the shores of Lake Tahoe) and yet so unassuming and modest about her talents. In the silicon hunger games of the San Francisco Bay Area, she and her late husband Ian always seemed domestically enshrined in the 19th century, surrounded by Ann's still lifes and rich garden produce, Ian's vast book collection and his own slyly witty poetry, and their son Aldo's fascination with the ancient worlds of board games. Jonathan Villet, Fiona McDougall and David Gonzales have made a wonderful short film about Ann's art, home life and cancer diagnosis, weaving it around her reflections on how we deal with unexpected setbacks. Do we despair? Do we fight? Or do we, as she suggests, sweep them out like an annoying houseguest and move on? I particularly liked how the filmmakers animated Ann's own drawings of the fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper and the Biblical tale of Jacob's combat with an angel to illustrate her feelings about how life should be lived -- which do not always adhere to conventional views of who is a hero and who is a victim.

Donald G. McNeil Jr, former New York Times science reporter

image: Apricot, oil on board, 2024

It was such a pleasure speaking with Grace Nelligan and I am grateful for her article now published in The Daily Californian.

Berkeley artist Ann Arnold talks life, art and apricots Arnold often draws upon ancient stories and poems as a source of inspiration — Aesop’s Fables, Biblical narratives and Greek mythology figure largely in her work.

Remembering August and September
More lilies and fabric finds, the first marigold seeds.