"The Misplaced Masterpiece of Richard Upton Pickman" is a short Cthulhu Mythos story by Canadian author Troy Young. It is the third instalment in Book Three of his Nyarlathotep Cycle.
Synopsis[]
The story is told in the main part through the journal entries of a small-time art dealer who accidentally comes into possession of a previously-unknown painting by Richard Upton Pickman. As the image begins to entrance him, his newfound paranoia leads him to believe that he is being monitored by government agents who wish to take it from him. Attempting to hide the picture, he finds himself increasingly enraptured by it, before mysteriously disappearing.
The story's conclusion confirms the agents to in fact be Mayweather and Hines from the Department of Extraordinary Phenomena, who recover the painting for disposal. The art dealer is heavily implied to have been drawn into Pickman's painting.
Characters[]
- Cromwell, an art dealer on the verge of making a name for himself.
- Malcolm Mayweather, a senior agent for the Department of Extraordinary Phenomena.
- Charlene Hines, Mayweather's junior partner.
- Harjit Singh, the Department's director.
Publication History[]
"The Misplaced Masterpiece of Richard Upton Pickman" was published in The Other: Encounters with the Cthulhu Mythos Book 3 in 2021.
| "The House at the Edge of Time and Space" • "The Shade of Pierre Girault" • "The Misplaced Masterpiece of Richard Upton Pickman" • "The Curse of the Windsor Witch" • "The Bride of the Yellow King" • "In the Depths of R'lyeh" |