Peregian Codex (deluxe edition)

Sydney: The Beagle Press, 2008. Oblong quarto, orange cloth in matching slipcase, 96 pp., fully illustrated with Gleeson’s vivid surreal imagery. The deluxe edition, limited to 100 copies with a limitation slip signed by the artist, and an original aquatint etching loosely enclosed. The first 50 copies of this edition contain the aquatint Surge 2007 while the second 50 copies contain the work Storm Rods 2007. This example has the etching Surge.

The Peregian Codex features the drawings that James Gleeson made while on holiday at Peregian Beach, Queensland, from December 1982 to January 1983. They were a prelude to the grand series of paintings that he began in 1983. This magnificent large format monograph illustrates the fine series of work which is now considered one of the high points of Gleeson’s oeuvre. This is the last monograph produced on the artist before he passed away in 2008, and includes a fine original etching to complement the book.