Oil on Canvas

Colorful surrealist portrait painting by contemporary Texas artist Henry David Potwin. The work features a crowded group of children riding on a monstrous train flanked by skeletons and a fence with billboards in the distance. This piece references "La Bestia," also known as "The death train," which is a freight train that runs from southern Mexico and connects with a network of Mexican freight trains heading to different points on the U.S. border. It is estimated that each year, between 400,000 and 500,000 migrants, ride atop these trains in the effort to reach the United States. Signed in front lower left corner. Titled and dated on reverse. Currently hung in a black decorative frame.

Born in Dallas, Texas David Potwin is the oldest of three children. He first started to paint at the age of 8 years old. As a young boy, Potwin's family would summer vacation in Taos, New Mexico. During the family vacations in 1965, he met artist Eric Gibberd who became his mentor for years to come. David attended the University of Houston Fine Arts program from 1969 to 1974. He studied alongside and under a great group of artists in a building called "The Annex" His subjects range from landscapes, portraits, cityscapes to those that are personal to the artist, idiosyncratic, humorous, and socially aware.

H 25.5 in. x W 33.63 in. x D.75 in.

H 22 in. x W 30 in.