Sherlock Holmes and “The Mystery of the Room Full of Clues,” oil on panel, 18” x 24,” original painting is available for sale! Please CONTACT US for more information.
sherlock holmes and “The Mystery of the room full of clues”
Oil on panel, 18” x 24,” framed
$10,500.
Please contact us for more information about this original oil painting.
AVAILABLE AS A STUDIO PRINT IN 3 SIZEs!
“As an artist who is also a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories, it has been an enjoyable challenge to, at various times over the last several years, try my hand at portraying the Great Detective. But for this painting, I wanted to do more than just a simple portrait of this fascinating character.
As Dr. Watson tells us, his friend Sherlock Holmes was, “in his personal habits one of the most untidy men that ever drove a fellow-lodger to distraction,” and that his house keeping habits were as eccentric as the man himself, with papers, relics, books, chemicals and clutter everywhere.
Knowing that through his amazing powers of observation and by applying his vivid imagination, Holmes often used seemingly mundane objects to reconstruct events and to help tell revealing stories, it seemed like a very logical supposition to imagine that amidst the clutter and bric-a-brac of his Victorian rooms, the observant visitor might find not only moments that recall specific cases (like The Hound of the Baskervilles) but also tell-tale objects that would reveal something about the enigmatic inhabitant of 221B. Baker Street.
Here then is my attempt at capturing just a slice of that world. As the visitor enters this room, he or she will see some not only obvious artifacts related to Holmes (as well as the Consulting Detective himself), but objects that the artist hopes will test the powers of observation and memory of even the most devoted Sherlockian. Within this painting, often hidden in plain sight, are over 25 visual clues to either a Holmes adventure or some other object referred to within the Canon. Need I say it? “The Game’s afoot!”—SG”
spoiler alert! below is a key to the 28 clues and a description of each!
1. Holmes curled up in his chair with his knees drawn up - “The Red Headed League”
2. The Mysterious Dressing Gown - throughout the canon of Holmes stories, readers have been mystified by the fact that Sherlock as appeared in a dressing gown, that, at different times has been three different colors:
Mouse colored in “The Bruce Tarkington Plans” and “The Empty House”
Purple - in “The Blue Carbuncle”
Blue - in “The Man with the Twisted Lip”
Therefore, this dressing gown has touches of all three colors
3. Tweed pants - “In his tweed suit and cloth cap he looked like any other tourist upon the moor..” - “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” also a tweed suit reference in “A Scandal in Bohemia”
4. The Great Detective’s Pipe - in almost every story, a reference is made to Holmes and his pipe
5. Enigmatic note - “The Gloria Scott”
6. Hand drawn map - “The Adventure of The Priory School”
7. Coded message - “The Dancing Men”
8. “Unanswered correspondence transfixed by a Jack Knife into the very center of his wooden mantelpiece,…” - “The Musgrave Ritual”
9. A Tibetan tea pot - we learn in “The Adventure of the Empty House” that Holmes had “traveled for two years in Tibet.
10. Large dog’s skull - “The Hound of the Baskervilles”
11. A plaster bust of Napoleon - “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons”
12. A Silver statuette of a race horse - “The Silver Blaze”
13. Legion of Honor Medal - as mentioned in “The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez”
14. Photograph - In “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton,” Dr. Watson is described as “a middle-sized, strongly built man with a thick neck, square jaw and mustache.” This description could also fit Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, therefore this photograph serves the dual role of representing the two authors who together brought us the most famous detective the world has ever known, Sherlock Holmes
15. Persian Slipper - in which Holmes stores his shag pipe tobacco, as mentioned in “The Naval Treaty” as well as others
16. A small blue bottle containing Prussic acid - from “The Veiled Lodger”
17a. Cocaine bottle (on mantel) and 17b. syringe (on table) - as mentioned in “The Sign of Four”
18. Picture of a Bee - reference to Holmes’ interest in bees and beekeeping, as we learn in His Last Bow, and “The Lion’s Mane”
19a. Brandy in goblet and in 19b decanter - mentioned in the stories too often to list specifically. Apparently a favorite beverage of the Great Detective and Dr. Watson
20. A Black Disc with Red Circle - from “The Adventure of the Black Circle”
21. Book entitled “The Dynamics of an Asteroid,” by Moriarty - mentioned in “The Valley of Fear”
22. Magnifying Glass - an iconic symbol of Sherlock Holmes as referred to in “The Lauriston Garden Mystery,” among others
23. Holmes’ Violin and Bow - as mentioned in “The Norwood Builder “and many other stories, Holmes often played this instrument while contemplating a case
24. The Leather bound notebook of the infamous Adelbert Gruner from “The Illustrious Client”
25. Zoological print of the extremely rare Ratteus giantess Sumatrae, or as Dr. Watson refers to it in “The Sussex Vampire,” the Giant Rat of Sumatra
26. Botanical print entitled: “Fagus sylvatica f. purpea” or a Copper Beech from “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches”
27. Marine Biology print entitled: “Cyanea capillata” otherwise known as “The Lion’s Mane” from “The Adventures of the Lion’s Mane”
28. Our picture full of clues ends at almost the beginning. A Strand Magazine, not unlike this copy, which from 1891-1927, Dr. John Watson related 56 adventures of his friend and colleague, the World’s Greatest Detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes! —SG
“Sherlock Holmes,” oil.on panel, 24” x 30,” unframed. Please Contact Us for more information about this new available oil painting! Thanks!
SHERLOCK HOLMES
Oil on panel, 24” x 30”
Framed
Please contact us if you are interested in more information about this original painting!
AVAILABLE AS A STUDIO PRINT IN 3 SIZEs
WHILE READING A NUMBER OF SHERLOCK HOLMES STORIES RECENTLY, I REALIZED HOW MUCH I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO A PORTRAIT OF THE GREAT DETECTIVE…
In the story of “The Man with the Twisted Lip,” I came across a passage that I thought would make a great setting for such a portrait. While working on the case, Holmes and Watson are spending the night at the Cedars, the home of their client, Mrs. St. Clair. As Watson prepares for bed, he observes Holmes gathering pillows and cushions from the furniture around the room and then collecting them in one large pile, that he arranges into a “sort of Eastern divan.” There, he settles himself, along with his briar pipe, matches, and tobacco, which in this story Doyle refers to simply as an “ounce of shag,” but from other accounts we know that Holmes had a peculiar habit of storing his tobacco in a Persian slipper, so I’ve taken the liberty to include that here.
As he drifts off to sleep, the last image the good doctor sees is that of Holmes reclining cross-legged on the pillows, smoking his pipe and staring intently into space, surrounded by the curling, blue smoke of his pipe. The next morning, when Watson opens his eyes, he sees that Holmes has hardly stirred and has remained nearly motionless - apparently having contemplated the case all night long. --SG
These 2 sherlock holmes paintings are now sold, but studio prints are available!
“The Consulting Detective,” oil on panel, 16” x 20,” framed. Now SOLD!
“Guardians of London,” oil on panel, 20” x 24,” unframed. SOLD!