Robert Elder and Matt Kish

Though hailed as “a brilliant artist and one of America’s foremost painters” by filmmaker John Huston, Indiana native Gilbert Wilson (1907–91) worked in relative obscurity for much of his life. A disciple of Diego Rivera, Wilson is best known for a series of large-scale murals, including one at nearby Antioch College, that champion progressive causes and depict the plight of the common man. Wilson was obsessed with Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick, serving as an assistant to famed Moby-Dick illustrator Rockwell Kent and eventually producing a series of his own paintings inspired by the book that in turn influenced Huston’s film adaptation in 1956.

The new book Moby-Dick: Illustrated by Gilbert Wilson explores the now-celebrated artist’s obsession and features never-before-published paintings and notes on the novel, all drawn from Wilson’s estate. For this free event the volume's editor, Robert Elder, will be joined in conversation by Ohio artist Matt Kish, creator of Moby-Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page (2011). The talk will be preceded by the short film Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (30 mins., digital video). A signing in the Wexner Center Store follows the event. (program approx. 75 mins.)