Rock of Ages, Sands of Time

  

Images from
Rock of Ages,
Sands of Time
Paintings by Barbara Page, Text by Warren Allmon

 

The paintings in Rock of Ages, Sands of Time span the whole of geological history. Each of Barbara Page's 544 contiguous painted panels represents a million years of the history of life on earth, with fossil plants and animals depicted at the same scale and in association with each other just as they might be found by a paleontologist in the field. The paintings are all in full color and many include three-dimensional texture.

To fully experience the awesome impact of an eon's worth of time spread across 500 feet of bas-relief panels, you'll have to visit the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York, where Page's specially commissioned work will be installed when the museum opens in 2002. In the meantime, the book Rock of Ages, Sands of Time offers crisp color reproductions of each painting, and also includes an essay by paleontologist Warren Allmon giving the scientific context behind the art.

This web feature reproduces eight contiguous panels from each of the ten geological eras preceding the present—Cambrian to Tertiary. One of the eight panels from each era is reproduced about two-thirds life-size—click on the underlined number in each purple band. The original painted panels are each eleven inches square. You may also read an interview with Barbara Page. (All illustrations are ©2001 by Barbara Page. All rights reserved. No use allowed without permission.)

The Cambrian (543-507 mya)
528 527 526 525 524 523 522 521

 

The Ordovician (506-439 mya)
458 457 456 455 454 453 452 451

 

The Silurian (438-409 mya)
432 431 430 429 428 427 426 425

 

The Devonian (408-361 mya)
384 383 382 381 380 379 378 377

 

The Carboniferous (360-290 mya)
339 338 337 336 335 334 333 332

 

The Permian (289-245 mya)
289 288 287 286 285 284 283 282

 

The Triassic (244-205 mya)
238 237 236 235 234 233 232 231

 

The Jurassic (204-141 mya)
156 155 154 153 152 151 150 149

 

The Cretaceous (140-65 mya)
92 91 90 89 88 87 86 85

 

The Tertiary (64-3 mya)
10 9   8   7   6   5   4   3  

 

 

Copyright notice: All illustrations are ©2001 by Barbara Page. All rights reserved. No use without permission.

Barbara Page and Warren D. Allmon
Rock of Ages, Sands of Time
Paintings by Barbara Page, Text by Warren Allmon, Foreword by Rosamond Wolff Purcell
Cloth $45.00 ISBN: 0-226-64479-0
©2001, 10-3/4 x 7, 300 pages, 272 color pages

For information on purchasing the book—from bookstores or here online—please go to the webpage for Rock of Ages, Sands of Time.

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