• The Dagger Dropped, 1923, Harry Clarke illustration for Poe's The Masque of the Red Death
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  • The Dagger Dropped by Harry Clarke unframed print with a white border
  • The Dagger Dropped by Harry Clarke in a dark wood frame
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  • The Dagger Dropped by Harry Clarke in a black frame with a white mount
  • The Dagger Dropped by Harry Clarke in a whitewashed frame
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The Dagger Dropped (1919) – Harry Clarke | Masque of Red Death

The Dagger Dropped (1919) – Harry Clarke | Masque of Red Death

€112,00 EUR
€112,00 EUR
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Harry Clarke

Prince Prospero thought walls and wealth could keep Death outside. He was wrong. Clarke drew the moment he found out.

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Harry Clarke's 1919 plate for Poe's The Masque of the Red Death — the instant the dagger drops, printed as an archival art print.

Prince Prospero has sealed a thousand of his friends inside a walled abbey to wait out the plague, and holds a masquerade among seven coloured rooms. Then a tall figure in grave-cerements walks through them all and stops by the black room and its ebony clock. The prince charges after it, the dagger falls "gleaming upon the sable carpet", and when the guests tear off the mask they find nothing inside. Clarke draws that moment, every inch of the frame filled with ornamental linework so dense it seems to breathe.

Clarke (1889–1931), the Dublin stained-glass artist, drew twenty-four plates for Harrap's 1919 edition of Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination, every one in black and white. This is the most theatrical of them.

It hangs well in a study, a library or a dining room, anywhere the detail rewards a second look. Made to order, shipped worldwide and backed by hundreds of verified customer reviews.

Materials & craftsmanship

  • Paper: 250 gsm fine art paper, matte, uncoated, natural off-white archival surface.
  • Frame: oak or ash hardwood in black, white or natural wood, 20 mm profile, ready to hang.
  • Protection: clear shatterproof plexiglass on framed prints.
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