Hello.

Since posting this Part 2 of the Hidden Art Near Zorro Ranch series, I have gotten mostly positive responses.

Mostly.

One guy decided to prove me wrong by repeatedly OBSESSIVELY posting a Getty Images link to a famous chain gang image from the 1930s, because, he said, the three convict figures were merely cheap replicas of that photo. Dead set on proving me wrong.

Sir. SIR.

(Sigh.)

The artist, Robert Harkness, was one of the most talented in the nation. A prodigy.

From his obituary:

“Robert graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts and a Minor in Communication Design in 2012 [from the Roski design school at USC]. He was awarded the Discovery Scholar distinction in recognition of USC undergraduates who have excelled academically while making a meaningful contribution to their field of study through exceptional new scholarship or artistic work.

“Robert was recruited out of college to work as a designer and assistant art director for Playboy Magazine in Los Angeles. While there for three years, he was responsible for award-winning design work and enjoyed being on a team of highly creative artists, designers, writers, photographers, and other talented people.

“He then was hired by Outside Magazine of Santa Fe, New Mexico, as art director, where he worked for a year before striking out on his own as a freelance artist and designer in Santa Fe, founding Harkness Arts.”

Throughout his life, Harkness played with iconic American images to make modern political statements. He riffed on the famed George Washington on the Potomac painting to make a statement about climate change and pollution and, I believe, American consumerism generally. He riffed on the famed WWII American soldier flag photo to compare America's war worship to the attitude of those who crucified Jesus.

So, yes. The chain gang image looks a lot like a famous photo. But it isn't because the artist copied it and lacked imagination. It's because that riff, too, is part of his hidden message: Epstein isn't the only one. He is linked to other gangsters, and one of them, initials clearly pointed out, has the bigger contact list.

These are additional Harkness pieces side by side with the famed images he intentionally drew from.