Study for "The Skeleton in Armor" Frieze

Date1882

Artist Walter Crane (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.