02/23/2026
From 1935 to 1942, produced works that mark him as a pioneer of American surrealism. ‘Old Man Holding Child’ is an excellent example of his work in the genre. While the individual components of the composition are readily identifiable, their mode of presentation is disjunctive and disquieting.
The figural group appears to be a carved wood statue, set against a background of land, sea, and sky. While the subject matter and the draped clothing of the elder male suggest an ancient or biblical narrative, the child clucthes a blue ball, a distinctly contemporary attribute. As Marinko himself took pains to explain, the meaning of any of his work is in the intersection of his subconcious and the perceptions of the viewer.
George Marinko, ‘Old Man Holding Child,’ about 1935–42