Skulls are a recurring motif in Arthur Boyd’s practice. This fascination was in part spurred by a story Boyd heard about the previous tenants’ of his property in Shoalhaven. Apparently, after being caught in barbed wire, their favourite horse, Flame, died. In honour of the creature, the tenants decided to bury him under his namesake, the Flame tree, on property.

Taken with this tale, Boyd set about locating and unearthing the skull – and after finding it, displaying it until his own death. Boyd’s ‘Untitled (Portrait and Skull)’ places together death and life, myth and reality. Beside an animal’s skull rears a man’s face – two sides of existence hung in close proximity. Boyd was keenly attuned to precarity of life and the environment, excavating the soul of the land in search of meaning.

For collectors of Boyd and still life art, ‘Untitled (Portrait and Skull)’ is a thought-provoking find. It is a rare original etching printed on cotton, handmade Fabriano paper and hand-signed by the artist.

Arthur BOYD (1920 - 1999)
'Untitled (Portrait and Skull) '
etching on brown paper
Edition of 30
Image Size: 50 x 40 cm
Dimensions: 66 x 48 cm
Signed: Signed lower left: Arthur Boyd; numbered lower right 19/30
Comes with Letter of Provenance
Printed on 100% cotton handmade buff Fabriano paper with the inscription C.M. Fabriano and ROMA within an intaglio of she-wolf suckling twins.
 
Condition: Excellent
 
© Arthur Boyd / Copyright Agency 2023