Artwork copyright Richard Posner. Photo courtesy of the artist, 1985.

Fall’s Idle, 1979

Richard Posner
Nationality unknown (born 1949, died 2011)

Location: Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia

About the Artwork

Artist Richard Posner’s drawing Fall’s Idle is a play on the words “false idol.” He describes the piece as “the ritual of teaching old dogs new tricks and the insistence of young dogs in learning them. Is the boy reaching for the Golden Bough? Where there is smoke, will there be fire? Who is on first?” He made the work while on a Fulbright Scholarship in Sweden.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Washington State Arts Commission.

About the Artist

Artist Richard Posner (1949-2011) created community-based, public artworks while also balancing a studio art-making practice. A true citizen of the world, he is known in the Pacific Northwest for the years he spent making art in Seattle in the 1980s.
Posner received a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Chico in 1973. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from California College of Arts and Crafts in 1976.