Original artwork description:

This is my version of 'Woman and Skeleton', based on - in fact, a close copy of - a painting by Albert York. I first came across his work in a New Yorker article many years ago; I was mesmerised by the images, and tore this one out of the magazine. (Pre-internet, it was pretty hard to find out much more, especially about a relatively obscure and extremely reclusive artist.) I've held onto the cutting ever since, and come across it occasionally. On a whim, I decided to do my own version of it; it's about the same size as his original, 30 x 30 cm, oil on canvas. His slightly naive style, the thickly brushed paint and the rather sickly colours all seem to make an intriguing combination; I can't decide whether it is about vanity, or mortality, but I find the pose of the skeleton/Grim Reaper amusingly casual.

Materials used:

highest quality artists' oil paint on cotton canvas.

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