Gustaf Tenggren ( Attributed ) , Arabian Nights - Guard and Sitting King - Islamic Golden Age - Gustaf Tenggren, 1957

One Thousand and One Nights - It is often known in English as the Arabian Nights. What is notable about this work is how magnificently composed, designed, and rendered it is. Its light-filled formal composition is based on a vertical and horizontal axis. It features in the foreground, a cropped close-up of a guard at attention with spear and shield at the ready. Behind him, we see a king sitting on a pedestal flanked by two servants. The work is unsigned and was commissioned by Random House in 1957. It is possible that it was for international distribution. We are assigning it as Gustaf Tenggren attributed. Tenggren was a versatile artist who worked in several different styles— Gouache on heavy illustration board, Printer marks in margin, unframed. 9.5 x 10.5