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Written toward the end of the Victorian era at a time when Sigmund Freud was formulating the tenets of psychoanalysis, this book teems with
dreams, the subconscious, sexual repression and expression, faith, addiction, societal conformity and rebellion all wrapped up in a tale of horror.
I am struck by how the group that forms in the quest of defeating the Vampire could be seen as a forerunner to any of today’s superhero groups,
with the professor as the leader, the other members with their own strengths and weaknesses, and especially with the role of the one woman
in the group who transcends the traditional societal norms by becoming both the object of the evil as well as the source of its demise. It is her
intelligence and perception that enables them to persevere. She also makes use of technology and science such as shorthand and a portable typewriter,
memorizing lists of train schedules and other ways that make her seem more modern even though she is still very much a “creature” of her times
and mores.
The story is so engrossing and so meaningful, and so continually relevant, that it is not surprising that there have been hundreds of editions of the
book, which also, of course, have produced so many fantastic covers. Richard has chosen some of the many that are each in their way evocative
of the spirit of the story as translated through different times and styles.
Now enter into the gallery’s 2025 exhibition of Richard Baker’s
DRACULA
From the archives:
We are extremely happy to present the 29th solo exhibition of Richard Baker with our gallery. Our personal relationship precedes even our professional one, which began in 1992. Through the years Richard has exhibited oil paintings, sculpture, installations and more, but the core body of work that he has become identified with has been his loving depictions of favorite books.
Richard uses the medium of gouache to paint these exquisite homages. Gouache can be particularly tricky paint to master, but Richard has made it into an almost second-nature intuitive tool with which he honors these jewels of design. It is quite extraordinary to see the way in which he handles the medium almost like oil paint, making it viscous and tactile.
Richard Baker's work is in countless public and private collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum, Sarasota Springs, NY, and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Awards include those from the New England Foundation for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. He has been a visiting artist at the University of Iowa, Boston University, the Rhode Island School of Design, the School of Visual Art in New York, and the Vermont Studio Center, and others. He has long standing involvements with the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and Castle Hill Center for the Arts in Truro, MA where he has conducted workshops. Baker taught for eleven years at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. He currently resides with his wife Victoria in Cambridge, MA.
Richard uses the medium of gouache to paint these exquisite homages. Gouache can be particularly tricky paint to master, but Richard has made it into an almost second-nature intuitive tool with which he honors these jewels of design. It is quite extraordinary to see the way in which he handles the medium almost like oil paint, making it viscous and tactile.
Richard Baker's work is in countless public and private collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum, Sarasota Springs, NY, and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Awards include those from the New England Foundation for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. He has been a visiting artist at the University of Iowa, Boston University, the Rhode Island School of Design, the School of Visual Art in New York, and the Vermont Studio Center, and others. He has long standing involvements with the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and Castle Hill Center for the Arts in Truro, MA where he has conducted workshops. Baker taught for eleven years at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. He currently resides with his wife Victoria in Cambridge, MA.