Study for "The Skeleton in Armor" Frieze

Study for "The Skeleton in Armor" Frieze
Study for "The Skeleton in Armor" Frieze

Study for "The Skeleton in Armor" Frieze

Date1882
Artist (British painter, illustrator, and designer, 1845–1915)
MediumGouache and graphite on paper
Dimensions9 x 73 3/4 in. (22.9 x 187.3 cm)
frame: 12 × 77 1/4 in. (30.5 × 196.2 cm)
Credit LineF. V. du Pont Acquisition Fund, 1987
Object number1987-178
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextIn 1871, Walter Crane met William Morris and became associated with the Morris and Company firm, designing for a wide variety of media. Crane’s work for Morris’ company included a decorative scheme for the dining room of Vinland, the home of Catherine Lorillard Wolfe.

The subject of the frieze was based on a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow entitled “The Skeleton in Armor.” The ballad relates the story of the landing of the first Vikings in Newport. In this scheme, he created a narrative composition much like frames of film, showing dramatic incidents side by side, punctuated with the use of vertical elements such as columns or rock formations.