Afternoon of a Faun by Eugene Savage (American, 1883-1978)

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One of a series of Art Deco paintings made by Eugene Savage in the 1930s to visualize and dramatize great … Read more One of a series of Art Deco paintings made by Eugene Savage in the 1930s to visualize and dramatize great works of Classical music, this painting celebrates "Afternoon of a Faun" by Claude Debussy, which later inspired the great ballet by Serge Diaghilev for the Ballet Russes. Savage, who became celebrated for his ambitious allegorical murals across America, packs the panting with a vividly-hued landscape populated by a series of mythological figures, including a drunken faun in the lower right, his pipes by his side, and a goat charging a nude female Goddess in the center. Savage uses a colorful palette here, including periwinkle, violet, lemon yellow and jade green, giving the scene an exotic, jewel-toned atmosphere.
Savage was, arguably, America's most successful and prolific muralist in the Art Deco style, with important surviving paintings dating from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for a spectacular set of murals illustrating the history and lore of Hawaii commissioned by Matson Shipping Line for the S.S. Lurline, executed in the 1940s but not installed until the 1950s. The artist also painted other series of murals and paintings, including an enormous mural for the Texas Centennial Buildings in Dallas, a group for the Elks National Memorial in Chicago, and a series celebrating the Seminole Indians and their home in the Everglades, now held by the Cummer Museum in Jacksonville. He also executed works for other public buildings in Chicago and Indiana, and for Columbia and Yale Universities. The painting is signed in the lower right, and retains its original applied label. See less