The Island
The Island
Artist
Walton Ford
(born 1960)
Date2009
MediumWatercolor, gouache, pencil, and ink on paper, triptych
DimensionsSheet (A): 95 1/2 × 36 in. (242.6 × 91.4 cm)
Sheet (B): 95 1/2 × 60 in. (242.6 × 152.4 cm)
Sheet (C): 95 1/2 × 36 in. (242.6 × 91.4 cm)
Framed (A): 98 in. × 38 1/2 in. × 2 1/2 in.
Framed (B): 98 in. × 62 in. × 2 1/2 in.
Framed (C): 98 in. × 38 1/2 in. × 2 1/2 in.
Sheet (B): 95 1/2 × 60 in. (242.6 × 152.4 cm)
Sheet (C): 95 1/2 × 36 in. (242.6 × 91.4 cm)
Framed (A): 98 in. × 38 1/2 in. × 2 1/2 in.
Framed (B): 98 in. × 62 in. × 2 1/2 in.
Framed (C): 98 in. × 38 1/2 in. × 2 1/2 in.
ClassificationsWatercolor
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2009.18
Signedl.r., in pencil: WF.
Accession number
2009.18
On View
Not on viewLabel TextThe Island depicts dozens of thylacine marsupials, more commonly known as Tasmanian tigers, forming a living island sinking into the sea. Extinct in their native Australia for a thousand years, the species persisted in Tasmania until the mid-1930s, when it fell victim to human predators who mistakenly believed the animals were a threat to their sheep herds and their livelihoods.
Ford makes reference to early natural history book illustration in his large-scale watercolors by artificially aging his paper with convincing faux stains and other indications of time and wear. His attraction to the work of esteemed wildlife artists such as John James Audubon is evident. Merging historical truth with strange, fictional narratives, Ford laments humankind’s capacity for inflicting irrevocable harm on nature and on ourselves.
