THECASTLEPAINTINGS

When it became known in 1971 that the comic book artist Carl Barks had begun a new career creating oil paintings featuring the Disney ducks, he was increasingly besieged by fans and collectors, who wanted him to paint a masterpiece for them. His files speak volumes of the numerous requests he received, some of which were discarded for various reasons, while others were booked as potential orders. The accepted orders could mainly be divided into two categories; motifs relating to Barks' former stories, and motifs relating to his old front covers. On this page you are presented to 4 oil paintings featuring scenes relating to one of his first opuses namely FC0189 The Old Castle's Secret. This is the story.

PROLOGUE

FC0189 - June 1948

Barks' first front cover for his Disney comic book stories came in FC0189 The Old Castle's Secret from 1948. The story is often referred to as one of his most memorable ones (you can browse a selection of foreign covers telling of the story's popularity HERE) because of its special atmosphere of mystery and horror, the uncanny ghost, and the fact that we get the first mentioning of Scrooge McDuck's past and ancestors.

But many years later the cover itself triggered a bookshop owner from Hollywood, California, to order an oil painting of the scene. This was not the first time Barks received an order like this; the first painting based on a cover can be seen HERE, and more followed during the next years.

Already in September 1971, when his permission to paint the Disney ducks had been effective for just a few months, Barks was swarmed with orders for special paintings, and the request for a castle painting was booked in Barks' files. At the time he was not sure what the potential purchaser wanted; maybe a new scene featuring Scrooge with an armoured ghost, or maybe something completely different such as a scene from the egg story Lost in the Andes? In a letter to a friend Barks expressed the hope that the customer would go for the latter idea as being the basis for a really good motif.
But, as it turned out, the bookshop owner had his heart set on a meticulous copy of the cover for FC0189 right down to the colour of the sky, the drops of sweat near Donald's brow, and the thin yellow stripe on nephew Huey's shirt. So Barks, who was not that keen on going through with the project, made an exact copy of the cover but ended up with a 'rebellious' addition in which he shadowed the flagstones, and he hoped that the customer would reject the alteration - but that was not the case. The painting was accepted...

Remark: Barks used the logical and intriguing title The Old Castle's Secret along with an old fashioned font on both cover and splash panel. Maybe he should have titled the story Ye Olde Castle's Secret thus carrying the notion of a genuine English/Scottish atmosphere even further?

CASTLE #1

24-71 Old Castle

Barks was never especially interested in titling neither his stories nor his paintings, and this one is no exception. Instead of simply titling it as the story, he chose to call it Old Castle. When you compare the artwork to the cover you will see how precisely Barks copied the cover except for the aforementioned flagstones that, in turn, make the stone pattern much more realistic.

The painting, which was Barks' 24th official Disney painting in 1971, was made on canvas in the size 16x18" (410x460mms), and it was purchased at 150 dollars, which was the normal rate for Barks' duck paintings at the time. In 2014 the artwork was resold for 71,700.00 dollars...

There seems to be some sort of consensus about the origin of Scrooge's family castle. Seemingly, it was amalgamated from several genuine British castles that Barks found in his useful and often researched National Geographic magazines. In this case the issues from May 1946 and July 1947. He took the basic structure from the Welsh Harlech Castle, a tower from Cawdor Castle, and turrets and battlements from Glamis Castle. Some of the interior parts were copied from Winchester Castle.

Remark: It seems a bit puzzling that the ghost, who is in fact the castle's villainous caretaker (oops, spoiler), has the normal comic characters' 4 fingers on each hand, but when he presents himself as a ghost he suddenly has 5 human fingers, which can also be clearly seen in both cover, story, and painting.

CASTLE #2

21-72 Old Castle

The following year Barks produced another version of his castle painting, and this time he deviated somewhat. Now Scrooge is suddenly present, which is only logical as he was the most important character in the story. By comparison you will see several other differences from the first painting. The most easily identifiable are a more cloudy sky filled with hovering birds, the arch stones are filled with more mortar, the rearranging of Donald's right hand, and the nephews have more distinctive eyebrows.
Again, Barks did not 'bother' making a new title for the artwork; it was also titled Old Castle, but in most reference books it is mentioned as Old Castle with Scrooge, which was not Barks' initial title.

The painting, that was Barks' 21st official Disney painting in 1972, was made on canvas in the size 16x20" (410x510mms), and it was purchased at 189 dollars, which was the normal rate for Barks' duck paintings at the time.

Remark: At the time of the story Barks had most of Scrooge's appearance fixed except for his pince-nez. It was of the same shape as later on, but the glasses were rimless and far bigger. When Barks made the painting he made sure that Scrooge was wearing the correct, contemporary type of pince-nez.

EXTERIOR SETTING

132-86 Dubious Doings at Dismal Downs

In 1980 Barks received his second permission to paint Disney ducks, but this time most of the new paintings were accompanied by a limited number of lithographs and/or serigraphs thus enabling more fans to purchase the almost real thing at lower prices. From now on Barks numbered the paintings with sequential numbers starting from his first official Disney artwork making this one #132. Spawning from the painting came a series of 345 lithographs that were both numbered and signed by Barks.

It is interesting to see that Barks for some unknown reason furnished Scrooge with a pince-nez similar to the one in the story.
The location for the painting can be found in the story, although the treasure chest appears slightly different and the sword is an addition making the scene more menacing. Also, Barks added more information on his ancestors; Friar Juicy McDuck (910-971) - halo and all - was never mentioned in the story, Sir Swamphole McDuck (1161-1221) was mentioned as having died in 1220, and Sir Smokt McDuck (931-?) is a newcomer to the family tree as well. In the hazy background you get a full view of Scrooge's ancestral home, and you will be able to see how Barks pieced the building together from the real castles mentioned above.

The painting, that was Barks' 9th official Disney painting in 1986, was made on Masonite in the size 20x25" (510x640mms), and it was purchased at 22,500.00 dollars, which was paid in 3 rates due to the high price. Barks also enjoyed a steady income of royalties from the paper copies (see more HERE).

Remark: By using a fictitious Scottish location called Dismal Downs Barks managed to come up with a title consisting of 4 D-words. Although the location name was never used in the story, Barks used the similar name Dismal Swamp as a setting for other stories; according to WDCS216, WDCS243, and U$57 it is located right outside Duckburg.

INTERIOR SETTING

148-96 Old Castle Secret

Barks' last castle painting takes us inside the corridors of the castle, in which, unknown to themselves, the ducks are being followed by the ghost. Again, the sword seems to be floating in the air as in the 1986 painting, but this time we get to see some of the skeleton arm as a shadow on the wall. And lo and behold: The hand seems to have only 4 fingers!
As usual, Barks was undecided as for titling his newest creation, but he ended up naming it Old Castle Secret (and not the slightly more logical Old Castle's Secret as in the story), but he simply booked the artwork as Old Castle...

The painting, that was Barks' 5th official Disney painting in 1996, was made on Masonite in the size 12x16" (300x410mms), and it was purchased at 24,000.00 dollars. The artwork was not published in any type of paper copies.

Remark: As usual, Barks made numerous rough sketches of the motif before he was satisfied with the contents and the composition. Some of the discarded ideas were that Scrooge was urging the Ducks forward by impatiently waving his right hand at them, the three nephews were lined up in a single file, the sword was presented as a scimitar(!), and the ghost was seen as a complete skeleton.