The Search One of my all time favorite artists is a guy named Richard Kane Ferguson who painted these insanely gorgeous Magic:The Gathering cards in the 90s. He was the guy that when you're flipping through hundreds of cards you could pick his stuff out in an instant. So distinctive, so dynamic, so full of energy.
I spent 10 years searching for him and barely found a hint. One or two people had originals they got at conventions. There was no way to contact him. He was invisible.
Then one day he popped up on Facebook and with a website!
The Piece This piece is Mirri, used in the large format Vanguard series of Magic. Cards you applied to the player. The art area is 11"x12", much larger than most normal cards were done(see additional image). It was completed in 1997, around the time of 10th Edition, Visions, and Tempest. You got it through playing in the Arena League or buying a Vanguard Gift Box.
For me, this was the peak of RKF's 90s skill - insane detail, amazing colors, gritty texture, and this unique quality that just made it *POP*. This piece is alive and vibrant, the sunlight playing in the background, hidden monuments, a dazzling sword...simply intoxicating!
Choosing Art When It's All Available When I found RKF he hadn't sold much of his art, but was finally willing to after sitting on it all for 20+ years. He still had icons like Dakkon Bladeblade and Nebuchadnezzar sitting around. I had my pick of almost everything.
It's a tough challenge sometimes, balancing what value you get when you have THAT much selection. The quality and maturity of the art vs the popularity and potential value over time.
His early Legends art was memorable and iconic, certain to go up in value, but they were smaller drawings(4" x 6") and not as strong as his later work. I had already picked up Misinformation, a gorgeous snow piece, and loved the idea of getting something a step above. My goal was the best possible art, not the most famous cards.
The cost of Mirri was about the same as Nebuchadnezzar and Pillage and Searing Spear and a few of the nicer and more iconic cards, and about half as much as Dakkon. The biggest thing Mirri had going for her was simply her size - Mirri was 2-3x the size of all the other pieces! Enormous relative to all the other Magic art!
And it was really as good a piece of art as RKF ever did for Magic, a true masterpiece, not something rushed through for a deadline. This is RKF putting in his heart.
It may have been an obscure set, but it was gorgeous art!!
In the end, I decided that artistically Mirri was one of the single best pieces he did in all of Magic, and the sheer size only added volumes to it. Maybe Sol'kanar could tempt me, but nothing else:)
The Card Mirri Starting & Max Hand Size: +0 Starting Life: +5 Ability: Each of your basic lands may be tapped to produce any color of mana instead of its normal type. Quote:Mirri and Gerrard have been the best of friends since they trained together under the maro-sorcerer Multani. A fierce and agile warrior, she rejoined Gerrard aboard the Weatherlight as his unofficial first mate shortly after he assumed command of the flying ship.
Every time a comic art collector acquires a long sought grail, you hear a bell, and an angel gets his wings. Great story, great art, great luck finding this!
It's always great to hear that someone has finally found that long sought-after piece of artwork that they've spent years in search of... especially when that artwork turns out to look as fantastic as this does. Congratulations!
