Collector’s Edition (No. 101–1,600) Limited to 1,500 individually numbered copies, each signed by Walton Ford Printed on archival-quality paper Finished in book cloth with a leather spine and corners with gold embossing Packaged in a clamshell box covered in Luxor book cloth At first glance, Walton Ford’s large-scale, highly-detailed watercolors of animals may recall the prints of 19th-century illustrators John James Audubon and Edward Lear, and others of the colonial era. But a closer look reveals a complex and disturbingly anthropomorphic universe, full of symbols, sly jokes, and allusions to the “operatic” nature of traditional natural history themes. The beasts and birds populating this contemporary artist’s life-size paintings are never mere objects, but dynamic actors in allegorical struggles : a wild turkey crushes a small parrot in its claw; a troupe of monkeys wreak havoc on a formal dinner table, an American buffalo is surrounded by bloodied white wolves. The book’s title derives from The Pancha Tantra , an ancient Indian book of animal tales considered the precursor to Aesop’s Fables. This large-format limited edition includes an in-depth exploration of Walton Ford’s œ uvre , a complete biography, and excerpts from his textual inspirations: Vietnamese folktales and the letters of Benjamin Franklin, the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini and Audubon’s Ornithological Biography . Ford’s paintings have been color-separated and reproduced in Pan4C, the finest serigraphic technique available, providing unequaled intensity and color range. The book includes 11 horizontal and 4 vertical fold-outs that look awesome when you stand over them. And you will. Available in an Art and a Collector’s Edition, Walton Ford: Pancha Tantra is signed by the artist and presented in a custom clamshell box. Both editions feature a complete biography and excerpts from the textual sources for the paintings: Vietnamese folktales, the letters of Benjamin Franklin, the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini and John James Audubon’s Ornithological Biography .