Patri Pugliese was a graduate student at Harvard (in "History of Science") at the same time as I was. He was active in the Society for Creative Anachronism and was an expert dancer, fencer, and swordsman. This portrait was created for his then-girlfriend who lived in the same graduate dormitory as I did. Patri is portraying one of his favorite fantasy characters, Fritz Leiber's "Gray Mouser," who was also excellent with a sword. Patri continued to dance and fence and swashbuckle long after graduate school.
This is one of my favorite "action portraits" even after all these years. My photo of the piece is bad and you can only do so much to restore it even with the magic of Photoshop. But it is a remembrance of one of my most creative times. I'm sorry to read that Patri Pugliese died in 2007.
"Patri Pugliese as Grey Mouser" is watercolor on Fabriano paper, 5" x 8", summer 1977.
I like it but it looks like the Gay Mouser to me...just something about the pose I think!
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