The Magpies (Written by Denis Glover, pictures by Dick Frizzell)
When Tom and Elizabeth took the farm
The bracken made their bed
Tom's hand was strong to the plough
and Elizabeth's lips were red
Year in year out they worked
while the pines grew overhead
But all the beautiful crops soon went
to the mortgage man instead
Elizabeth is dead now (it's long ago)
Old Tom's gone light in the head
The farm's still there. Mortgage corporations
couldn't give it away

oil on paper laid onto board, seven panels
title inscribed and signed
315 x 757mm: each panel

Note:
The Magpies won the Russell Clark Memorial Award for best illustrated book in 1988.
Provenance:
Acquired by the current owner from the artist in 1987.
Private collection, Dunedin.