About this item
Highlights
- At first glance, Walton Ford's large-scale, highly detailed watercolors of animals recall the prints of 19th-century illustrators John James Audubon and Edward Lear.
- Author(s): Bill Buford
- 512 Pages
- Art, Individual Artists
Description
About the Book
Walton Ford's large-scale watercolors of animals make up a unique anthropomorphic universe rich in sly jokes and hidden meaning. This revised publication in our compact 40th Edition series is the most comprehensive survey of Ford's oeuvre to date, updated with more than 20 recent works by the artist.Book Synopsis
At first glance, Walton Ford's large-scale, highly detailed watercolors of animals recall the prints of 19th-century illustrators John James Audubon and Edward Lear. A closer look reveals a complex and disturbingly anthropomorphic universe, full of symbols, sly jokes, and allusions to the 'operatic' quality of traditional natural history.
In this stunning but sinister visual universe, beasts and birds are not mere aesthetic objects but dynamic actors in allegorical struggles: a wild turkey crushes a small parrot in its claw; a troupe of monkeys wreaks havoc on a formal dinner table; an American buffalo is surrounded by bloodied white wolves. In dazzling watercolor, the images impress as much for their impeccable realism as they do for their complex narratives.
First available as a signed and limited volume, this updated edition of Pancha Tantra is the most comprehensive survey of Ford's oeuvre to date, with more than 20 new works. It features dazzling details, an in-depth exploration of his visual universe, a complete biography, and excerpts from his textual inspirations: from Indian folktales and the letters of Benjamin Franklin to the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini and Audubon's Ornithological Biography.
Review Quotes
"Think John James Audubon crossed with Hieronymus Bosch."-- "Vogue"
"Walton Ford's draftsmanship has Dürer's woodcut muscularity, and his ambitious compositions have the sweep of Delacroix or Géricault."-- "Men's Vogue"
"Ford's work in all its gory' hyper-real glory."-- "Los Angeles Times"