Showrooms

Stop Make Forfeit

Creator: Charles Addams -Charles Samuel Addams
Offered by: Robert Funk Fine Art

Description
This artwork is crammed with symbolism.
Addams has cooked up a thoughtful and deeply conceptual work.
Quid pro quo. Man gets passage. Witch gets lover.
"Forfeit” It could the biggest forfeit the man will ever make.
The "Lovesick Lonely Witch" has her mouth open, while the cottage door right behind her is open as well.
She shoots bedroom eyes to the man. The wife's identity is hidden.
Addams is suggesting that it’s the Witch’s desire for the man to throw his wife overboard and then join the Witch for some private time.
It's a fair sacrifice for passage for a Witch. And in perfect keeping with Addam's sensibility, where life is seen from the point of view of his macabre characters.

His carefully crafted composition has the wife right next to a perilous precipice for convenient disposal.
A single lane road gives them no options for turning around.

The chimney on top of the Witch's cottage is clearly phallic in shape.
There is a direct line of sight from the man's eyes to the Witch's love gaze and then to the chimney.

A classic reference of intercourse is typically symbolized by a train going into a tunnel.
In this case, it's a car going into a covered bridge.
The phallic hood ornament points the way.
In prudishly conservative 1956 America, sexuality had to be handled in subtle ways.
This may be one of the only works by Addams where he deals with sex, even if it's sex with a Witch.

Work is not framed

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Origin:	United States
Period:	1950-1979
Materials:	Watercolor, Wash, Ink
Condition:	Excellent.
Creation Date:	1956
Styles / Movements:	Conceptualism, Modernism, Illustration
Catalog References:	Syndicated cartoon for McClure Syndicate Tee and Charles Addams Foundation Taraba Illustration Art
Article References:	Syndicated cartoon for McClure Syndicate Tee and Charles Addams Foundation Taraba Illustration Art
Incollect Reference #:	210842

Dimensions

W.	11 in;	H.	12 in;
W.	27.94 cm;	H.	30.48 cm;

Message from Seller:

Robert Funk Fine Art in Miami offers an eclectic collection shaped by 45 years of experience, blending art with commercial perspectives. For inquiries or art advisory services, contact Robert Funk at decoypoet@yahoo.com or 305.857.0521.

Sold