Fighting Cock II

DateProbably 1939

Maker Morris Graves American, born Fox Valley, Oregon, 1910; died Loleta, California, 2001

Label TextGraves’ symbolism is always obscure, yet it is possible to read this painting as a companion to the adjacent Cardinal, a work painted at the same time and in the same media, and on the same scale. The two are likely segments of the extended series Graves painted in 1939-40 decrying the politics of the Catholic Church in fascist Europe. In Church symbolism, the rooster is a representation of the Apostle Peter, a reference to his weak faith and hypocrisy. Here the rooster is ready for battle—it is a fighting cock, a showy, high-bred bird trained to fight to the death for its own survival.

Object number2009.52.13

ProvenanceAl Banner and Jack Lanser; [George Belcher, Inc., San Francisco]; sold to Marshall and Helen Hatch, Seattle, March 16, 1977

Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann

Exhibition History San Francisco, California, Palace of the Legion of Honor, "Morris Graves Retrospective", 1948 Janet Hutson Gallery, "Mary Randlett Show" June 1 - July 8, 1990

Credit LineGift of the Marshall and Helen Hatch Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

Dimensions16 1/4 x 12 1/8 in. (41.3 x 30.8 cm)

MediumOpaque watercolor and graphite on two fused layers of Japanese paper