Lettick utilizes his draftsman’s and trump-l’oeil skills in every aspect The Fatal Gift. The title of this work refers to Lettick’s “fatal gift” – his skill and aptitude as an artist which he cannot flee from. The mannequin depicted here most likely represents the artist, who in turn is drawing a renaissance style sketch - on a piece of paper - on a wooden board. The highlights and shadows create a 3-D illusion while the wrinkles on the paper and dents in the wooden board are impeccable. The showmanship in this very difficult rendering displays the artists prodigious expertise as a draftsman. The sheer precision and difficulty to accomplish this composition displays complete focus and attention to detail.
This painting was used for the cover of Lettick’s catalog during his trip to Japan. The Fatal Gift was so important to the artist, Lettick used it as the cover illustration in the catalog: VISION: Special Issue Birney Lettick, 1986. Later, the artist had the image copyrighted. We know there are two variations of this work and have established that the version we hold is the same as the one used in the catalog.
Artist to widow of the artist until 2004.
Private collection, NY acquired from the above 2004 to present