When we reflect on the many great covers that Kelly did for Berkley's line of Robert E. Howard reprint books, this is one we recall first. The original is entitled "Field of Fury", and it was designed for the 1977 short story compilation, "Marchers of Valhalla". Kelly's chaotic battle scene for the cover is full of dead and dying, splintered shields, flying spears and arrows, and ichor spraying off of swinging axes. The image's stalwart defenders are pictured in the midst of battle against an invading horde that is trying to scale the natural earth formation that protects the defender's castle home. Kelly has again used to his best advantage, the publisher's requirment for the central action to appear on the right (to show on the front of the wrap-around cover). He has done this by placing the right wing of the battle line closest to the viewer, descending into the distance on the left. It is effective, giving the painting a completeness, despite its unusual composition. But the most effective aspect of the work is Kelly's phenominal depiction of the sky - a pale mix of light and dark pastel colors that effectively suggests the bleakness of the contest below. I believe that the axe-wielding figure of Conan in the work represents the title story's incarnated, otherworldly version of a character named Allison - a crippled Texan that may have been more autobiographical in nature than Howard would have liked us to know. With that in mind, this may well be an interpretive portrait of Howard as he saw himself? This image has also been used for the box cover for the 1996 computer Fantasy-Action-Adventure game "Witchaven II. "The oil painting was executed on canvas board and has been signed and dated "1977" in the lower right corner. The framed painting has an exposed image area of 39" X 29" that appears to remain in a flawless state of preservation.