A wry artistic critique of the administration of George W. Bush, this 2008 work by John Buck features the silhouette of a unicorn-riding cowboy trapped in a white birdcage. The bars of the cage stand out starkly against a dark, complex dreamscape of symbols taken from nature and popular culture. "The Last Go-Around" represents the widespread disillusionment that attended the political moment in which it was made, while also displaying the skill and artistry for which Buck's woodblock prints are known.

Framed size is 71.5 x 47 inches (181.6 x 119.4 cm). Artwork size under the mat is 57 x 33 inches (144.8 x 83.8 cm).

John Buck (American, b. 1946) is a contemporary American artist best known for his bronze sculptures and woodblock prints. Buck was born in Ames, IA, and graduated from Kansas City Art Institute with a BFA in 1968. In 1971, he began studying at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. The following year, he received an MFA from the University of California, Davis. Buck became a teaching assistant at the University of California, Davis in 1971, and went on to teach at Gloucestershire College of Art and Design in Cheltenham, England; Humboldt State University; and Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. Considered to be a master carver, Buck grounds all of his works in wood carving. His artwork also commonly features unique woodblock prints, massive wood sculptures, and colorful wood panels. Evoking political broadsides, cartoons, and graffiti art, his sculptures often draw from or comment on popular culture. Buck's works have become known for the significant inclusion of icons, images, motifs, and symbols evoking both the natural and the social worlds. He often uses a nail, a pen, or his own fingernail to inscribe the planks of wood that form the bases of his sculptures. John Buck has had recent solo exhibitions at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, CO (2005); Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA (2008); Fort Wayne Museum of Art, IN (2009); Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT (2010-2011); and the Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento, CA (2011), among many others. He lives in Montana and Hawaii.

Selected Public Collections:
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY