FOR THE TEMPLES OF THE GREEKS…. 1995.

Little Sparta: Wild Hawthorn Press, 1995

8.3 x 19.2cm, 1pp, Artist’s card with an elevation drawing of a modern warship with the various towers and gun placements being labelled as if they are the four types of classical columns found in Greek architecture. An amusing correspondence but the quotation “For the Temples of the Greeks our homesickness last forever” comes from Odysseus and his longing for the familiar sights of his home. That gives this war machine a poignancy that the forms of sheet metal itself are unlikely to encourage. The beauty of Michael Harvey’s line drawing also makes the boat a thing of classical form.
This image was also a much larger print and one of Finlay’s most popular late works. VG+.