
Walton Ford
Swadeshi-cide, 1998; La Historia Me Absolvera, 1999; Benjamin's Emblem, 2000; Tale of Johnny Nutkin, 2001; Compromised, 2003; and Visitation, 2004
all I. 35 3/4 x 23 7/8 in. (90.8 x 60.6 cm)
all S. 44 x 30 5/8 in. (111.8 x 77.8 cm)
From the …

Turning the work of naturalist and painter John James Audubon on its head, Walton Ford imbues the flora and fauna in his own watercolors and prints with sex, violence, and melodrama. His aim is to satirically comment on the history of colonialism, slavery, and other forms of oppression. The beauty and naturalism of his meticulously rendered scenes belie their comedic grotesqueness. As he explains, “I think that there’s almost no subject that you can’t treat with some humor, no matter how brutal it can seem.”

all I. 35 3/4 x 23 7/8 in. (90.8 x 60.6 cm)
all S. 44 x 30 5/8 in. (111.8 x 77.8 cm)
From the Catalogue:
When the bird and he book disagree, believe the bird.
-John James Audubon
—Courtesy of Phillips

Turning the work of naturalist and painter John James Audubon on its head, Walton Ford imbues the flora and fauna in his own watercolors and prints with sex, violence, and melodrama. His aim is to satirically comment on the history of colonialism, slavery, and other forms of oppression. The beauty and naturalism of his meticulously rendered scenes belie their comedic grotesqueness. As he explains, “I think that there’s almost no subject that you can’t treat with some humor, no matter how brutal it can seem.”