Walton Ford
u003cpu003eAt 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 anthropomorphic universe, full of symbols, sly jokes, and allusions to the 'operatic' nature of traditional natural history.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eIn this stunning but sinister visual world, beasts and birds are not mere aesthetic objects but rather dynamic actors in allegorical struggles: a wild turkey crushes a small parrot in its claw; a troupe of monkeys wreak havoc on a formal dinner table; an American buffalo is surrounded by bloodied white wolves. In dazzling watercolor, the images come to impress as much for their impeccable naturalism as they do for their complex narratives.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eThis updated edition of Pancha Tantra features the artist's most recent works and contextualizes his collection of bestial tableaux with an in-depth exploration of his oeuvre, a complete biography, and excerpts from his textual inspirations: Vietnamese folktales and the letters of Benjamin Franklin, the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, and Audubon's Ornithological Biography.u003c/pu003e