User:Zanimum/At the Crease

Many media outlets agree that Danby is best known for this artwork.

One copy of the print, at Studio Mixte in Montreal, was smeared with blood from looters during looting after the 1986 Canadiens Stanley Cup win.

Identity of the subject
In a 2007 interview after Ken's death, widow Gillian Danby noted that "the goalie was supposed to be whoever you wanted it to be. I think Ken understood that the world of an artist meant letting people see your work however they wanted to." She recounted how the public would insist to him the paint was of Dryden, even if he told them it wasn't.

Danby would continue to be intentionally ambiguous with many sports artworks, including "Face Off" (1997).

Reception
A few years after the 1972 publication, Danby mentor Andrew Wyeth saw the work and wrote to Ken: "I think your painting, At the Crease, a terrifying and exciting picture. Keep up this high quality."

A collection of Danby's artwork toured Paris, Brussels, London and New York in 1974, including "At the Crease". In 1981, the National Portrait Gallery exhibition "Champions of American Sport" includes the work; the major exhibition would tour from Washington, DC to Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Danby receives an invitation to the White House because of the exhibit, where he meets President Ronald Reagan.

Legacy
On Danby's death, many media outlets noted that Danby was best known for this artwork. In Lieutenant Governor of Ontario David Onley's official condolences, he cited "At the Crease" by name.

The Guelph Storm hockey team and Danby Studio exhibited various hockey works by the artist, at a December 11, 2007 game. A percentage of ticket sales would go to the Ken Danby Legacy Fund of the The Guelph Community Foundation.

A goalie mask with a recreation of Danby's work was sold for USD$20,000 in an online charity auction in 2006.

The item was featured on seasonal collectable tins in December 2002, along with "Lacing Up"; FritoLay Canada notes brisk sales.