Whitman In Camden City Printmaking By Jerry Di Falco

Year:

Medium:

Etching Print

Size - (USA):

12 W x 16 H x 1 D (inches)

Size - (metric):

30.5 W x 40.6 H x 2.5 D (centimeters)

Theme:

Celebrity

Edition:

Original

Artwork ID:

616682

PDF Copy:

Artwork Info Sheet (PDF)

Artwork Description:

THE Full title is, Whitman and Friend in Camden, New Jersey, Golden Clouds. STORYLINE -- Walt Whitman lived his final years in Camden, New Jersey, on Mickel Street. His small house, which is now a museum, is located a few blocks from the Delaware River docks. His housekeeper and cook, Mary Davis, arranged for Whitman to hire her adopted-son, Warren, to act as the poet’s last caregiver and personal nurse. Warren became Whitmans closest friend and stayed with him over two years until his death in 1892. The poet was quoted as saying--Warry is faithful, true, and loyal. Speculations over their sexual relationship and Whitman’s bisexuality remain. Dr. John Johnston, an admirer of Whitman, took the photo on which DiFalco based his etching. Johnson traveled across the Atlantic specifically to meet the poet on July 15, 1890. He would later write--As we approached the wharf Whitman exclaimed How delicious the air is. On the wharf he allowed me to photograph himself and Warry, and it was almost dusk. The light was unfavourable, and after I sat on a log of wood beside him. Walt talked in the most free and friendly manner for a full hour, facing the golden sunset, in the cool evening breeze, with the summer lightning playing around us, and the ferry boats crossing and recrossing the Delaware. The artist poet, Jerry Di Falco, was born and raised in Camden, New Jersey, just blocks from Whitman’s house. Whitman holds a special place in the artist’s heart, and he has frequently visited his Camden grave. In 1974, DiFalco escourted the poet Allen Ginsberg to Whitman’s house and arranged for a public reading by Ginsberg at nearby Rutgers University. Price includes frame, mat, and shipment carton.

Artwork Keywords:   Original Printmaking

Materials:   Etching Prints