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13 Great Works of Art That Were Never Finished

Isaac Asimov never actually finished the 'Foundation' series.

13 Great Works of Art That Were Never Finished

April 09, 2023

Ah, the stories of unfinished works. From the grandest of masterpieces to the most ambitious of dreams, these works have captivated the imaginations of generations, inspiring us to strive for greatness and never give up on our dreams... or to just kind of dabble at art, collect plaudits from everyone, and never actually bother to deliver the finished product at all.

This list is a tribute to these unfinished works, and the often gifted and famous people who created them. From the unfinished masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci, to the never-realized movie dreams of Stanley Kubrick, to JRR Tolkien and his bet with CS Lewis, these works are a reminder that even the greatest of minds can leave us with something incomplete... frustratingly so, in some cases.

So, without further ado, let us take a journey through the world of unfinished works, and the often absolutely exasperating stories behind them.

13

Famous, unfinished sculpture.

Unfinished works Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore was created between 1927 and 1941, but was never finished due to the death of its sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, in 1941. CRACKED — Alex Pix/Shutterstock
History

12

Tolkien’s unfinished bet: Númenor, time-travel, and 'The Lord of the Rings.'

Unfinished works The Lost Road J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lost Road in 1936 as part of a bet with C.S. Lewis. The story, set in the world of Númenor, was about time-travel. Не never finished it, but it was the inspiration for later works, like The Lord of the Rings. CRACKED — Amazon Studios,
Wiki Commons
The Sydney Morning Herald

11

Napoleon’s movie dreams were never realized.

Unfinished works Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon Kubrick had big plans for a movie about Napoleon, but it never fully materialized. But at least there's a massive book about it out, called Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made. Kinda presumptuous, isn't it? CRACKED — Taschen (via The Independent),
Warner Bros. Inc
The Independent

10

‘The Last Tycoon’

CRACKED Unfinished works The Last Tycoon F. Scott Fitzgerald never completed his book based on the life of Irving Thalberg, the famous head of MGM. The book has been said to have some of Fitzgerald's best prose. — Nickolas Muray/Wiki Commons
New York Post

9

British representatives: too proud to be painted.

Unfinished works Signing of the Preliminary Treaty of Peace Benjamin West's painting, depicting British and American negotiators at the signing of the treaty that ended the American Revolutionary war, was never completed because the British representatives wouldn't let him paint them. CRACKED — Benjamin West
The Daily Beast

8

Leonardo’s only Italian masterpiece.

CRACKED Unfinished works Leonardo da Vinci's Portrait of a Musician Leonardo's unfinished painting is kept in a special room at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan, Italy. It's the only painting by the Renaissance artist that has stayed in Italy. — Leonardo da Vinci
Milano Art Guide

7

Decades in the making, never finished.

CRACKED Unfinished works The Thief and the Cobbler This animated fantasy movie took decades to make. In 1992, the producer took it away from the director and changed it, trying to release it in some form. Roy E. Disney tried to restore the original version, but it never got finished. — Richard Williams Productions
Cinematheque

6

Unfinished masterpiece.

CRACKED Unfinished works (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay Otis Redding's The Dock of the Bay was released a month after he tragically died. The song ends with that famous whistling, which wasn't planned, but was kept in the recording after Redding, uncharacteristically, ran out of ad-libs. — Stax Records/Wiki Commons
Songfacts

5

Biggest masonry structure in the western hemisphere.

Unfinished works Fort Jefferson Fort Jefferson is a huge building located in the Dry Tortugas, in the Gulf of Mexico. It was started in 1846 but never finished, as it was used as a prison during the Civil War. It's the biggest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere. CRACKED — imagoDens/Shutterstock
Dry Tortugas National Park

4

‘Foundation’: Asimov’s ideas, plus some new ones.

Unfinished works The Foundation novel series The Apple TV+ series Foundation is based on Isaac Asimov's seven novels, and includes ideas from all of them, as well as some never-before- seen concepts... which was kinda necessary, since Asimov left the series unfinished when he died. CRACKED — Apple TV+
Inverse

3

140 years later, still unfinished.

Unfinished works La Sagrada Familia The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain has been around for 140 years, but it's still not finished. It's a Roman Catholic minor basilica (well, minor only in the technical sense). CRACKED — TTstudio/Shutterstock
Barcelona Tickets

2

Charlie in the White House

CRACKED Unfinished works Charlie in the White House Roald Dahl started writing this book in 1978. It was supposed to be the third book in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory series. — Paramount Pictures,
Carl Van Vechten/Shutterstock
The Ringer

1

Unfinished.

CRACKED Unfinished works A Song of Ice and Fire George R.R. Martin is very late with the next book in his series, The Winds Of Winter, and he's come to terms with the fact that the series might stay unfinished. Yeah, and what about the rest of us, George? Talk about a tease. — HBO,
Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock
Newsweek

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