Richard Harris, Hugo Crosthwaite & Death March

In the summer of 2010, Richard Harris came across a small image of Hugo’s drawing, A Tail for Two Cities, in a review by Art in America’s Leah Ollman on Brutal Beauty at the San Diego Museum of Art. After visiting the artist’s website, Harris became interested in purchasing Tablas de una Novena, which unfortunately was not for sale at the time. Harris subsequently asked for a major private commission, the artist’s first. The only parameters were that it must be site specific for the entry of the Chicago Cultural Center, and it must concern death. Hugo was free to interpret the subject as he wished. Because Hugo does not work with preliminary sketches, Death March was still rather undefined when Harris visited the artist's Brooklyn studio. Yet, Harris trusted Hugo's artistic practice and continued to support his yearlong endeavor. It was only a mere year and half from the time Harris first encountered Hugo's work, and the unveiling of the monumental 15' x 11' drawing at the Chicago Cultural Center in January 2012.