The Call of the Wild

#17.1
oil
36 x 24 in.
42 x 30 in. (framed)
“The proper function of man is to live, not just to exist.” —Jack London
I’ve read Jack London’s The Call of the Wild many times. It always made me feel the suffering that a single person, alone in the Yukon, experiences, and a glimpse of what he can and cannot endure. A lone wolf harmonizing with a distant pack on the first full moon closest to the autumnal equinox—the Hunter’s Moon, or Harvest Moon—signifies the closing of the autumn months and the coming of long winter nights. Wolf packs are hierarchical, which gives a pack safety and survival.