Little Red Meets the Wolf 

Scott Gustafson created this painting, *Little Red Meets the Wolf*, at the end of the twentieth century. The image is taken from a well-known folk tale, one with roots in European peasant culture. The scene depicts Little Red Riding Hood meeting the wolf, who is disguised as a kindly old lady. Folk tales like this one encode historical anxieties about vulnerable people, often women and children, falling prey to predators, both human and animal. This particular story speaks to concerns about human interactions with the wilderness, but it also addresses the dangers posed by strangers or untrustworthy individuals. Gustafson's interest in depicting such subjects speaks to a contemporary nostalgia for the kind of clear moral instruction that such tales once offered. To truly understand the painting, we can start by researching the history of the original folktale. We can also investigate the artist's other works to better understand his relationship to historical narratives. Art like this reminds us of our shared cultural heritage, but also prompts us to ask how those traditions continue to resonate today.