Running Wild By Jim Warren
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I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A RARE JIM WARREN SURREAL PAINTING ENTITLED "RUNNING WILD." THIS ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING IS IMPORTANT IN THE ART WORLD TODAY FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: (I HAVE DONE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH FOR SOME TIME ON THIS PROJECT AND AS THE FACTS MOUNTED, ONE REVELATION LED TO ANOTHER.)

* FIRST AND FOREMOST, "RUNNING WILD" IS THE "PROTOTYPE" FOR THE SINGLE MOST FAMOUS PAINTING OF HORSE ICONS IN CONTEMPORARY ART: JIM WARREN'S "AGAINST THE WIND," THE HERALDED COVER ART FOR BOB SEGER'S ALBUM THAT SOLD OVER 6,000,000 COPIES ACROSS THE GLOBE. THAT ORIGINAL PIECE OF ART HAD BEEN OWNED BY BOB SEGER UNTIL THE TIME IT BECAME A PERMANENT POSSESSION OF THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME MUSEUM IN CLEVELAND, OHIO IN 2004. THE COVER ART WAS PAINTED IN 1980 AND WON THE GRAMMY AWARD FOR BEST ALBUM COVER IN 1981. TIME MAGAZINE ESTIMATED THAT THE MUSEUM DRAWS 1,000,000 VISITORS A YEAR WHICH MEANS THAT TO DATE COUNTLESS OTHERS HAVE ALSO SEEN WARREN'S HORSE ICON IN PERSON.

* MY ORIGINAL WARREN PAINTING OF "RUNNING WILD," PURCHASED DIRECTLY FROM THE ARTIST, MEASURES 14" x 24", IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, AND WAS PAINTED CIRCA 1977. IT IS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST PAINTINGS THAT WARREN FEATURED HORSES AS ITS SUBJECT, BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, IT FORESHADOWS THE IMAGERY FOR "AGAINST THE WIND." "RUNNING WILD" HAS BEEN KEPT IN MY PRIVATE WARREN ART COLLECTION SINCE I ACQUIRED IT.

* THE OTHER MOST WORLD-FAMOUS HORSE THEMED PAINTING OF MODERN TIMES IS JOHN PITRE'S "RESTRICTIONS." BY THE WAY, ACCORDING TO A SPOKESMAN AT PITRE GALLERY IN HONOLULU, HAWAII, THE ORIGINAL PAINTING IS IN A VAULT IN FLORIDA AND IS CURRENTLY FOR SALE FOR $10,000,000. ''RESTRICTIONS" CLAIM TO FAME IS THAT OVER 5,000,000 POSTERS WERE SOLD DURING THE 1960'S AND BEYOND.

* BY WAY OF COMPARISON, TAKE THE CAREER OF ANDY WARHOL AT HIS EARLY STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT AND RENOWN. WARREN IS LIKE HIM IN MANY RESPECTS, FOR HE TOO HAS SOLD COUNTLESS NUMBERS OF LIMITED EDITIONS, PRINTS, POSTERS, ( AND MORE RECENTLY, GICLEES) FROM HIS CATALOG OF ARTWORKS. WHILE WARREN IS NOTED FOR HIS SURREAL HORSE THEMES ( A SUBJECT IN OVER 36 OF HIS PAINTINGS OF WHICH THE MAJORITY HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED), TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, WARHOL HAD NOT PAINTED ANY HORSE ICONS. FROM MY RESEARCH, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ANY OTHER PUBLISHED ARTIST LIVING TODAY IS BETTER KNOWN FOR PAINTING HORSE IMAGES THAN JIM WARREN, CONSIDERING THE VAST NUMBERS OF HIS REPRODUCTIONS IN THE HANDS OF COMTEMPORARY ART COLLECTORS.

* AFTER SEARCHING THROUGH ''HORSE ICONS OR IMAGES'' IN CONTEMPORARY ART, THE IMPACT OF WARREN IN THE ART SCENE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. AS A MATTER OF FACT, WARREN HAS STATED THAT ONE OF HIS MOST PUBLISHED AND FAMOUS PIECES IS INDEED YET ANOTHER HORSE IMAGE, "WILD SPIRIT," WHICH WAS PAINTED MANY YEARS AFTER "RUNNING WILD." MUCH OF THE "WILD SPIRIT" PRINCIPAL IMAGERY IS OBVIOUSLY IDENTICAL TO MY ORIGINAL PAINTING AND WARREN HAD EVEN USED THE WORD "WILD" IN THE NAMES OF BOTH TITLES.

* IN CONCLUSION, RESEARCHED DOCUMENTATION SHOWS THAT: JIM WARREN PAINTED THE MOST FAMOUS HORSES IN MODERN HISTORY.AND HE IS THE MOST PUBLISHED AND COLLECTED ARTIST IN THE GENRE.

"RUNNING WILD" STARTED IT ALL

PLEASE NOTE: ACCORDING TO A RECENT SURVEY, JIM WARREN'S ART NOW
APPEARS IN THE TOP PERCENT OF ALL MODERN ARTISTS REPRESENTED IN VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE.