Artist:
Peter Paone
(b. 1936)
Mother and Son
Medium: Acrylic on panel
Date: 2015
Dimensions:
32 1/2 × 31 1/2 in. (82.6 × 80 cm)
Accession number: 2020.3
Copyright: © Peter Paone
Label Copy:
Peter Paone has long been fascinated with Halloween, creating a series of Halloween paintings over the last decade. In the paintings, Paone combines realistic detail and fantastic invention to create a world outside of reality. An acclaimed Philadelphia-born artist and teacher, Paone began collecting early twentieth-century Halloween toys and decorations in the 1960s. His interest grew deeper as he delved into the history of the holiday and its celebration and interpretation over the years. His figures, including those in Mother and Son, are enigmatic, impassive in facial expression yet communicating universal feelings such as loneliness, melancholy, and sorrow.