Welcome to my blog, featuring various pieces from my collection of Oz books, artwork and memorabilia!

Friday, May 23, 2008

Del Rey Magic

The cover of the Del Rey edition of The Magic of Oz is one of the most colorful and dramatic in the series. The painting is large, 2 feet by 3 feet, and definitely draws a lot of attention! For this painting Michael Herring chose to work on a masonite panel, which makes this a very solid and heavy painting.

The subject has again been taken from a John R. Neill drawing, although it has gained a certain presence that the original drawing lacks. Here the Wizard has grown into quite the showman, a far cry from the humbug that he was in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.











The photo I'm showing is a little misleading, as the wizard's coat does not appear quite as blue in person. On the other hand, the picture I have of the printed cover of the book makes the coat look black - just picture it somewhere in-between!

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