Spot the Clue with Sherlock Holmes, painted by Scott Gustafson

By John Freeman on August 30, 2023

“Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Room Full of Clues” is an oil painting by Scott Gustafson with 28 hidden references to cases or details in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle canon.

"Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Room Full of Clues", an oil painting by Scott Gustafson

Before you speed off to his web site, perhaps to actually buy the original work ($10,500) or a print ($25), or discover what features, how many references can you spot? (The answers are here).

“As an artist who is also a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories, it has been an enjoyable challenge to, at various times over the last several years, try my hand at portraying the Great Detective,” says Scott. “But for this painting, I wanted to do more than just a simple portrait of this fascinating character.

“As Dr. Watson tells us, his friend Sherlock Holmes was, ‘in his personal habits one of the most untidy men that ever drove a fellow-lodger to distraction,’ and that his house keeping habits were as eccentric as the man himself, with papers, relics, books, chemicals and clutter everywhere.

“Knowing that through his amazing powers of observation and by applying his vivid imagination, Holmes often used seemingly mundane objects to reconstruct events and to help tell revealing stories, it seemed like a very logical supposition to imagine that amidst the clutter and bric-a-brac of his Victorian rooms, the observant visitor might find not only moments that recall specific cases (like The Hound of the Baskervilles) but also tell-tale objects that would reveal something about the enigmatic inhabitant of 221B. Baker Street.

“Here then is my attempt at capturing just a slice of that world. As the visitor enters this room, he or she will see some not only obvious artifacts related to Holmes (as well as the Consulting Detective himself), but objects that the artist hopes will test the powers of observation and memory of even the most devoted Sherlockian.”

Check out the painting and a guide to the references featured here – and follow the links on the page to buy a print.

Scott in the studio with most of the 49 original oil paintings from his book, Classic Storybook Fables — *Scott Gustafson in the studio with most of the 49 original oil paintings from his book, Classic Storybook Fables*

American artist Scott Gustafson attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and originally had ambitions of becoming an animator, but has worked primarily as an illustrator for the past thirty years.

Although he’s had the opportunity to work on many projects throughout his career, it is in illustrating children’s books (many available from his website as signed copies) that he finds the greatest satisfaction.

Over the years, he is primarily known for his work illustrating children’s classics such as Peter Pan, The Night Before Christmas, and the more recent titles, Classic Fairy Tales, Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose, Classic Bedtime Stories, and his novel for young readers, Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe, which he wrote and illustrated.

Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe

Classic Storybook Fables by Scott Gustafson

Art from Classic Storybook Fables by Scott Gustafson — Scott’s *Classic Storybook Fables*

Scott’s Classic Storybook Fables, was released by Artisan in 2017, after two years (and 49 new oil paintings) in the making.

Scott has also worked on film projects for DreamWorks and PDI and has created character designs for the animated TV show, Chugginton. His illustrations also appear in limited-edition prints and on collector plates, greeting cards, and gift wrap.

Scott has been awarded a Chelsea award by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists for Classic Fairy Tales and an Independent Publisher Book Award for Best Children’s Picture Book.

• Scott Gustafson is online at scottgustafson.com

• If in the UK it may be easier to buy Scott’s books from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.