This artwork is an original etching from the series "A Moral Alphabet of Vice and Folly" by the contemporary American artist and author Stan Washburn. Signed, Numbered 86/120, 1984. Framed and matted. Frame measures 16"x 20" and the print measures approximately 6" x 8".
- Artist: STAN WASHBURN
- Title: Vice and Folly 1 (representing the letter A)
- Medium: Etching / Fine Art Print
- Style: Satirical narrative illustration in a classic cross-hatched engraving aesthetic
Text and Narrative
The distinctive narrative caption etched at the bottom of the plate presents a darkly humorous moral tale typical of Washburn's unique style:
"Alphonse, having arrived in Hell, discovered that his punishment was to listen endlessly to a group of executioners and a decaying judge, 'Except for the heat,' he thought, 'the place is much better than I had expected.'
Moral: Look around you."
The illustration visualizes this text, showing a man named Alphonse seated before a gathering of grotesque figures, executioners, and a judge sitting at an elevated bench beneath two round glowing lamps.