Wild Pilgrimage

One of the twentieth century's finest woodcut artists, Lynd Ward (1905–1985) created an influential series of amazing visual novels. Burning with a rich, highly emotional style, the imagery and psychological intensity of Ward's works-without-words have been compared to the writings of Hawthorne, Melville, and Poe. Wild Pilgrimage wordlessly relays the gripping tale—in startling shades of black and red—of a man born into a grim industrial world, chronicling his struggles between the drab reality around him and the fantasy world of his imagination. Following the story's hero through nearly 100 sharply rendered illustrated pages, readers become aware of a fundamental dilemma plaguing our modern times: that of a unique individual living, working, and aspiring to dream in an overwhelming mass society. A student of the German master wood engraver Hans Alexander Mueller, American–born Lynd Ward illustrated more than 100 adult and juvenile books during his career. His hauntingly rendered works have won such prestigious awards as the Library of Congress Award, the National Academy of Design Print Award, the New York Times Best Illustrated Award, the Caldecott Medal, and the Regina Award. Ward's works are also represented in a permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution.