Artist: Albert Pinkham Ryder (American, 1847-1917). Title: "Merlin & Vivien". Medium: Oil on canvas. Date: Composed c1886-1892. Dimensions: Frame size: 27 1/4 x 23 3/8 in. (692 x 594 mm). Image size: 24 x 20 in. (610 x 508 mm). Lot Note(s): Signed and titled, verso. Good condition save for a small hole, upper right, about 1/4" diameter. Comment(s): A very large painting for Ryder and a masterful composition, where the two standing figures merge into the oak and become part of the tree itself. The inspiration for this work came from Tennyson: "A storm was coming, but the winds were still, And in the wild woods of Broceliande, Before an oak, so hollow, huge and old It looked a tower of ivied masonwork, At Merlin's feet the wily Vivien lay". From "Merlin and Vivien," the sixth poem in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Idylls of the King.". [27887-10-24000]