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R. T. Wallen (American, b. 1942)

Arrival of the Sea Birds

Date: 1980
Medium: Pointigraph
Object Dimensions: 14 1/2 x 21 1/8 in. (36.83 x 53.66 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Edwards, 1994.003.27
Photo Credit: Jueqian Fang
Verbal Description: This cartoon-like print is almost monochromatic, with everything in neutral shades of white, tan, and gray. It shows six people dressed in white jackets paddling a canoe towards the right side of the composition. The figures are navigating through icy waters with flocks of birds flying all around. The birds are small and simplistically drawn with a white oval for bellies and gray wings that almost look like heart-shapes. The still, gray water is framed by zigzagged lines of white ice. One large M-shaped ice chunk sits just in front of the back side of the canoe. The canoers all have brown skin and dark hair. They appear to be happy, with thin, upturned lines for mouths, and eyes that are squinted from the large smiles. Describing the canoers moving from left to right: At the very back of the canoe, one person stands up, perched on the back deck, exposing speckled gray pants; the next three people make up a triangular formation, with the two on the closet side seated and paddling, and the back person standing up between them; the next person is standing, lifting the paddle up and to their shoulder, like a shot gun pointed up at the birds; the last person is on the further side of the canoe, paddling. Poking out at the front of the canoe are two silver spears and about three birds that look like they have been freshly caught, with their bloated bellies and feet sticking straight up.

Collection List This object is a member of the following collections: