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William Sylvester Gamble

$850.00
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William Sylvester Gamble
Product Details
Dr. William Sylvester Gamble, American, 1912-2009. A 1950s pastel on paper Surrealist biomorphic rendering, titled "Ur Child Thirteen: Memorial One". Paper is mounted on a painted Masonite board, titled and dated "1951" on artist label verso. Image 28 x 22 1/2" high, framed 36 1/4 x 31" high overall.
A commentary on the Korean War (1950-1953) , this pastel on paper rendering was inspired by Malagan (New Ireland, Papua New Guinea) memorial boards. Figural Malagan carvings often contain many inscribed likenesses or motifs, each entwined to form a single, visible organism.
Gamble's execution of this macabre homage to Malagan memorials through the lens of the Korean War in 1951 is a bit ironic - Malagan carvings were traditionally burnt or placed in a cave to rot at the conclusion of the event, but no peace treaty was ever signed to officially end the Korean War. The two Koreas are technically still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict that never formally concluded. <


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Biography:

Born in 1912, Gamble taught art at MSU from 1948 until his retirement in 1983. During that time he earned a doctorate from Columbia University and established an art education program for inmates at Jackson State Prison. In 1967, Dr. Gamble traveled to Japan, where he served as the main art consultant for the Kresge Art Museum. He remained close friends with artists George Tsutakawa and Shiro Miyazaki. Post-retirement, Dr. Gamble continued to paint and co-founded the Fine Arts Committee at The Peoples Church of East Lansing. Several his works remain in the permanent collection of Detroit Institute of Arts, The Kresge Art Center at MSU, The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and The Art Institute of Chicago.