A Moral Alphabet of Vice & Folly

The contemporary artist Stan Washburn creates prints, paintings, and illustrations for books. His etchings recall Old Masters and Nineteenth-Century, to early 20th century artists. In the Moral Alphabet, the artist drew inspiration from such artists as Rembrandt, Castiglione, Goya, Meryon and Ensor, among others. However, while the aesthetic of his work and the minute detail and exquisite craftsmanship may recall art of another era, his scenes are resolutely contemporary and exhibit a sensibility—notably an ironic humor—that corresponds more with the contemporary moment than with the earlier periods they visually evoke.
In The Moral Alphabet of Vice and Folly, Washburn takes on a form that goes back to the 16th century and which is well represented in our collection. Each of the prints here shows an image paired with a short text that explains the situation, followed by an ironic moral. The prints were created from 1982 to 1984 and were reproduced for an alphabet book published in 1986. This set is unusual if not unique, the K, W, and Z images are different from the ones that were included in the book.