ARCHILOCHOS; Introduced, translated and illustrated by Michael Ayrton / with an essay by G.S. Kirk
London: Secker & Warburg, 1977. Michael Ayrton. First Edition. Cloth. 4to (11 1/2" x 8 3/4"), grayish-brown cloth with gold lettering on spine & embossed figure by Ayrton of Archilochos on front cover, essay by classicist G.S. Kirk, archival mylar-protected depiction of Archilochos on B&W dust jacket (unclipped) with sketch by Michael Ayrton, profusely illustrated with 16 full-page B&W drawings by Ayrton, endpapers with B&W photo of funerary stone of Glaukos, a friend of Archilochos, 47 pages. Fine / Near Fine. Item #4214
ISBN: SBN436028530
Michael Ayrton (1921 – 1975) was a brilliantly talented English artist and writer, renowned as a painter, printmaker, sculptor and designer; also as a critic, broadcaster and novelist. His varied output of sculptures, illustrations, poems and stories reveals a profound interest in Greek myths; especially: Icarus and Daedalus, minotaurs and labyrinths.
English artist-author-sculptor & all-around Renaissance man Michael Ayrton here writes his personally illustrated re-imagining of an ancient Greek poet-warrior, who was one tough bastard.
SUPERIOR CONDITION: tight, clean, bright in a Fine dj.
Painter, printmaker, sculptor, theatre designer, writer and film-maker. Son of the poet Gerald Gould (1885-1936). He initially studied in London before moving to Vienna in 1936. He later moved to Paris where he studied under Eugene Berman (1899-1972) and shared a studio with John Minton (1917-1957), 1937-39. He also worked in the studio of Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978). On returning to London he was awarded a commission for theatre designs for John Gielgud’s 1942 production of 'Macbeth'. He served briefly in the RAF during the Second World War and worked as an art critic for 'The Spectator' between 1944 and 1946. He painted neo-romantic landscapes and, from the early 1950s, produced bronzes based on the Greek legends of Icarus and the Minotaur.
SUPERIOR CONDITION internally and externally! Tight, clean, unmarked. Some rubbing to unclipped dj. Not remaindered. Brilliantly illustrated by multi-talented Ayrton.
Price: $40.00