Edward Lupper (1936-2016) "Lion in His Garden" Original Charcoal Drawing C.1960s

Details

Description

An adorable wide-eyed, smiling lion nestles deeply within lush foliage, amid overlapping leaves, and clusters of small garden flowers. Californian … Read more An adorable wide-eyed, smiling lion nestles deeply within lush foliage, amid overlapping leaves, and clusters of small garden flowers. Californian artist Edward Lupper's distinctive style blends magical realism with playful, anthropomorphic illustrations of animals.
The textures are meticulously detailed using varying charcoal tones, contrasting soft stippling in the floral background against sharp linework in the lion’s mane and surrounding leaves.

The drawing is housed within in its period-accurate, handmade frame. It features a handmade inner black faux-bevel border lined with light blue trim and a wide green border, emphasizing the garden theme.

The back of the frame retains two highly informative original paper labels. One identifies the title, "Lion in His Garden". The second serves as a studio label bearing the artist’s name and his historical San Francisco, Calif. 94109 zip code location. A vintage stenciled serial number (8K12WF-72W.G.D.) is also stamped directly onto the cardboard backing.

Artist Edward Lupper was heavily celebrated for over 50 years for his highly unique, humorous, and stylized animal scenes. He attended the Parsons School of Design and the Art Institute of San Francisco, spending 43 years of his productive career building his reputation in the Bay Area before later relocating to Palm Springs in Southern California. His whimsical creatures have been collected globally, and are frequently found on vintage museum gift shop merchandise, including puzzles and note cards, all of which are guaranteed to bring a smile.
Signature: Lower right corner (photo #7). Drawing dimensions 8” wide x 5" high. See less