Of all the celestial objects, Ewen identified most closely with the moon. The many phases and types he painted—full, gibbous, half, and crescent; harvest moons; daytime moons; lunar eclipses—represent different sides of Ewen’s personality. He often portrays the moon as an awkward isolated orb, mostly at night but occasionally during the day. In other words, just as the sun illuminates the moon but rarely shares the sky with it, society sustained Ewen but he was never comfortable in it. Only on rare occasions does the moon eclipse the sun, just as the artist could overcome his alienation momentarily but never permanently.

This Spotlight is excerpted from Paterson Ewen: Life & Work by John G. Hatch.