Two (2) Werner Wildner (Nashville, Tennessee, 1925-2004) surrealist graphite and gouache on paper drawings, including one (1) depicting a gargoyle perched on a rooftop and one (1) depicting the profile of an alien head surmounted by a female bird laying an egg, an additional egg with a crack, lower right. Both signed with monogram "W." lower left. Both matted and housed under glass in wooden frames. Sights ranging in size from 10 1/2" H x 8" W to 11" H x 8 3/4" W. Frames ranging from 16 1/4" H x 13 1/4" W to 20 5/8" H x 16 3/4" W. Biography: Nashville painter Werner Wildner, known for his fantastical paintings and drawings of whimsical, sometimes grotesque creatures, was known to joke that he was "the reincarnation of Hieronymus Bosch." Wildner was born in Germany but emigrated to America with his family as a child and, as by his teenage years, was living in Nashville. He served in the Army in 1944 and studied art briefly at the Meinzinger Art School in Detroit. He practiced commercial art in Nashville for awhile, but by the mid-1950s had decided to pursue his own art career. A 1962 exhibit of his art at the Nashville art institution now known as Cheekwood led to greater renown as well as critical and commercial success. However, the death of his parents and collapse of his marriage in the 1970's led him to become reclusive in the last two decades of his life.

CONDITION: Both items in overall good condition. Gargoyle drawing with slight waviness to paper, scattered foxing spots, horizontal line of damp staining to lower edge of sheet (does not affect image). Not examined outside of frames. Frames with minor abrasions.