451 Degree Fahrenheit

30 x 24 inch (76.2 x 60.96 cm) charcoal, acrylic and collage mixed media painting

No books were harmed in the making of this painting (though I've discovered that if you heat up paper in a skillet to almost combustion temperature it really stinks up the joint.)

The books referenced in this painting were either the most banned books in the United States for all time, or the most banned for 2023. It’s interesting to note that the author Toni Morrison’s books are in both categories:

1984 - George Orwell
Maus - Art Spiegelman
Flamer - Mike Curato
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
Farewell To Arms - Ernest Hemingway
The Color Purple - Alice Walker

and lastly, alluded to in the painting's title
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury