Caniglia-Easton Press Artwork

I am going to start posting a series of 30 paintings and drawings that I recently created for the upcoming Easton Press release of O. Henry’s short story collection. The first art pieces that I wanted to show are from the story called “The Last Leaf”.

This story takes place in New York City where two young women share an apartment. They, like all the tenants in their building, are artists who earn their daily break making drawings for magazine advertisements. All the artists, though, hope to paint a masterpiece, someday.

One of the girls has come down with pneumonia. She isn't in a hospital (as she would be today) but is being nursed by her roommate. The doctor has visited the apartment and advises the healthy girl that her ill friend will only recover if she has the will to live.

The sick girl is in bed staring out the window. On this rainy November day, she is staring through the window watching leaves fall from a vine on the opposite building wall. She announces that when the last leaf falls, she will die. What happens next in the story is a miracle and shows the beauty of self-sacrifice and the spirit of the human condition.

Here are 4 pieces that will be featured in the upcoming collection.

I will post more pieces this week.

Caniglia