Friday, July 3, 2009

Two Children on a Rock

The first piece of art in my collection from the 1974 Graham Gallery Exhibition (see previous post) is titled Two children on a rock. To my knowledge, this piece has not been seen publicly since the exhibition.

This image is classic Edward Gorey. The image shows two windows drawn on the same piece of paper with the scene repeated in each panel. The "rock" is obviously a giant skull. In the daylight panel on the left the children appear to be patiently waiting for something to happen. The nighttime panel shows the youngsters still at their post, now fast asleep.

The colors of this piece are expertly rendered. It is difficult to see in the scan because they are so light, but the subtle watercolor shades of sky and grass in the daylight panel make a stark contrast to the deep blue of the nighttime sky. The line work in this piece is whisper-thin, and this double image shows the remarkable draftsmanship and skill that Mr. Gorey possessed. This piece is signed at the lower right.
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 3, 2009 at 7:50 AM

    I love the picture; thanks for posting it.

    But are the children asleep, or dead?

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  2. ampootozoteJuly 3, 2009 at 4:31 PM

    LOL...I always assumed they were asleep...but who can say? If they have perished, it was a peaceful passing.

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  3. VJESCIJuly 5, 2009 at 3:05 PM

    .before gorey:

    "So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Gol'gotha"


    .after gorey:

    "Looks like they're headin' for Skull Rock"

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  4. Glen David GoldDecember 1, 2010 at 7:13 PM

    This is gorgeous.

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  5. ampootozoteDecember 2, 2010 at 4:44 PM

    The painting on this piece is very subtle...The color wash on the daylight side is almost non-existant, but it has been painted...Mr. Gorey really did beautiful work on the show pieces...

    ReplyDelete