Drawings and Illustrations

This retrospective showcases the works of a leader of the Decadent movement, Baron Hans Henning Voigt (1887–1969). Better known as Alastair, the artist created works that are frequently likened to those of Aubrey Beardsley, Harry Clarke, and Edward Gorey. Alastair's highly ornate and distinctively ominous style blossomed with a series of erotic illustrations for the publisher and literary renegade Harry Crosby. This original selection of striking black-and-white drawings invites close examination and appreciation of the artist's skillful, sensual tone.

These shadowy, sinuous images include characters from stories by Oscar Wilde and Flaubert, as well as scenes from La Tosca and The Magic Flute. An informative Introduction by editor David A. Beronä, a historian of illustrated books, offers background on Alastair and his unique place in twentieth-century art and illustration. Art historians, bibliophiles, and collectors and students of drawing and book illustration will treasure this affordable compilation of hard-to-find works.