This painting, " An Old Starved Pitiable Thing" takes its name from a passage from The Lord of the Rings. It depicts the scene where Sméagol returns to Frodo and Sam after meeting with Shelob. The last glimmer of whatever empathy and friendship Sméagol was capable of is expressed here. It’s the last of the old hobbit. It’s all Gollum the creature from here. Sméagol would not be redeemed. I’ve read that after writing this passage, Tolkien wept. After completing the drawing last year, I thought that such a scene image should be developed more in oil color.
