Richard Lorenz

(American, 1858-1915)

The Chase

oil on canvas

signed R. Lorenz (lower right)

25 x 30 inches

This lot is located in Denver.

German born Richard Lorenz studied at the Royal Academy at Weimar on a scholarship endowed by Franz Lizst. One of the members of the Pabst family—of “Blue Ribbon” fame—saw Lorenz’s work and encouraged him to come to Milwaukee, then the center of the panorama industry. Panoramas were movies before movies, canvases 25 x 250 feet installed inside round rooms with special lighting and 3-D diorama effects. Viewers lined up to see the “Crucifixion” or the “Battle of Atlanta.” You can still see one of these unique artworks at the Gettysburg battlefield. Lorenz’s speciality? Horses. Working his way back from San Francisco, where he had helped install a panorama, Lorenz fell under the spell of the West. He took a teaching position in Milwaukee and spent summers roaming and painting the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and Texas. One of his students was none other than Frank Tenney Johnson, who went west because of Lorenz’s stories; another was Edward Steichen, one of the founders of modern photography. Never a prolific illustrator, Lorenz nevertheless won many prizes, saw his work hung at World’s Fairs, and was one of only two artists—the other was Frederic Remington—to be invited to the 1898 Trans-Pacific Exposition of Indian Nations. Lorenz was a character in a popular novel of the day and was also the subject of a Broadway play.

The Chase finds Lorenz in action mode, with the fleeing rider veering away from the viewer in a manner reminiscent of the artist’s contemporaries—Schreyvogel, Leigh, and Hansen, as well as Russell and Remington. The muscularity of the straining white mount is fantastic. The mane, tail, cloud of dust, and the lost hat and the rein in the wind bind the rider to the flow of the action. Whatever he’s done, there’s no turning back. The posse behind him—or whoever they are—are a blur in the kicked up dust, sketched with just enough detail, as if the rider is seeing them out of the corner of his eye. What’s more, Lorenz paints the cactus, grass, and ground with a rhythm that amplifies the wildness of this ride.

- James D. Balestrieri

Stable condition. Craquelure developing throughout, commensurate with age, and stretcher bar marks visible, predominant along left and top edges. Minimal paint loss in line with stretcher bar mark, near center, on left edge. No other visible losses. Faint discoloration, possibly yellowing of varnish, visible throughout and under UV light. UV light reveals one small area of possible inpainting in upper half, just above front rider's shoulder. No other efforts of conservation or intervention detected. Framed dimensions: 30 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches. Please request additional images.

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Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

Katherine Hlavin

Consultant, Fine Art

[email protected]303.825.1855

Ms. Hlavin joined the firm in June 2017 as Director of Business Development, Western Region, at the Denver location and became a department specialist in 2020. Under her leadership, the Western Art sales in Denver established several sale records. Before joining the firm, she spent seven years working with galleries in Jackson Hole, Scottsdale and Denver. Most recently, she was Gallery Director of Visions West Contemporary in Denver and Jackson Hole. Prior to that, Ms. Hlavin was Director of American & Western Paintings at Altamira Fine Art.

Alexandria Dreas

Specialist, Head of Sale, Western and Contemporary Native American Art

[email protected]303.825.1855

Alex has been working in the Fine Art industry for more than 12 years, including time spent at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, and the Denver Art Museum. She has been with Freeman's since 2019 and has headed the Western and Contemporary Native American Fine art Sales since 2021.

Western & Contemporary Native American Art

The Chase

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