This is in my opinion one of the most grotesquely beautiful works of art Vaughn Bode' drew.
I'm George Beahm, and if you look at the photo at the bottom of this ad, you'll see me standing next to him.
And therein lies a story.
So it's 1971, and I'm a freshman, eighteen years old, and I'm visiting Vaughn in Syracuse, New York. He rented a studio apartment that was his refuge, his place to get away from the world with all its demands.
The small studio apartment is immaculately clean; everything had its place. Vaughn patiently explained everything in the apartment: where he stored the art, the equipment he used, the "Lucy" used for tracing, everything; all the trade secrets.
He pulls out a large pencil drawing that is the basis for t his painting. "This is for you, George," he said.
I'm confused. "I don't understand."
He smiles. "I want to give this to you as a gift."
I'm speechless. It's a detailed, large pencil piece that is probably the best work of art that he did showing off his draftsmanship skills. The detail is extraordinary. I'd never seen anything like it.
"What do you think?" he asked.
I can't remember what I said, but I asked him to inscribe it to me, and he did. "To George...." Etc.
That was 53 years ago. I'm no longer in touch with the guy who bought the pencil piece from me -- Hi, Phil -- when I needed tuition money for college, but if it were to go up on the market, it would go for many thousands of dollars. I suspect that one day it will show up in auction, and it'll change hands again.
I've seen almost everything Vaughn ever did, and what struck me was that when he chose a color piece for the INDEX we worked on together, he picked the very best "Bode Broad" colored piece. I used to own that, too, and I don't remember who I sold it to; someone wrote to me, out of the blue, and said he'd love to buy it. And, around that same time, I was facing tuition costs and he bought the original art for $600. Back then, that was a nice piece of change; today, it's a better piece of change.
I often get asked, "Don't you have a lot of originals by your favorite artists?" I explain that I've had a goodly number of pieces over the years, but it comes in, and it goes out, because I've always felt that when it comes to books and art and other collectibles, we are really just temporary custodians. But what I cherished more, I explain, are the friendships that lasted years.
I've never written at length about Vaughn, even though I'm now a full-time writer, but perhaps one day...
**
About this poster: It was published by Al Schuster, who also published SUNPOT. The poster is on heavy stock, and it's shown only very minor browning on the back side. This is from the collection of the late Ned Brooks, my partner in The Bode Collectors and The Bode Archives. (I couldn't remember anything about the poster, so I consulted our BODE INDEX, and found the entry.)
