“Pyrrhic at Best” (22” x 15”)

“Pyrrhic at Best” (22” x 15”)This silk screen measures 22 x 15 and is printed on 100% acid free Stonehenge paper. It is signed by Dave Eggers and printed in an edition of 100. So what are these images of animals? Ill explain as much as I know. I was trained in the classical way of drawingto be able to capture a likeness or shape in a realistic way. As a disciple of Manet and Caillebotte, for years I painted people in a representational way, usually in some slightly surreal or (I

This silk screen measures 22” x 15” and is printed on 100% acid-free Stonehenge paper. It is signed by Dave Eggers and printed in an edition of 100. 

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So what are these images of animals? I’ll explain as much as I know.

I was trained in the classical way of drawing—to be able to capture a likeness or shape in a realistic way. As a disciple of Manet and Caillebotte, for years I painted people in a representational way, usually in some slightly surreal or (I hoped) thought-provoking setting or situation. Then I stopped painting in earnest for the better part of 15 years. 

Recently, I’ve come back to drawing and painting, with animals as the subject. I honestly can’t remember exactly when it started, but I began drawing bison from photos I’d taken in Alaska and Idaho, and once I’d finished a given drawing, it seemed incomplete without text—and the text that seemed most appropriate usually involved the bison in dialogue with its creator. 

These bison-and-text paintings evolved to include an array of mammals, and an array of dialogues. Sometimes the animals question their existence or purpose. Sometimes a passage from the Old Testament surrounds them and in some way gives them a sense of mission. But usually there exists tension between the animal and an unseen God, and in all cases I try to bring out the soul of the animal in some way. 

I can’t disguise the fact that I enjoy making these pictures. More so than when I was a student, the process is loose and uncomplicated. You may guess that some works seemed to have been created in a fever, and you would be right.

I hope you enjoy looking at these pictures. They were made with great affection for their subjects and for their potential viewers. It means the world to me that you’re looking at them.

—Dave Eggers