Western and Contemporary Native American Art

Provenance:

Closson’s Art Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Michael Clauder, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Oklahoma Publishing Company, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Property from a Private Collection.

Coeur d'Alene Art Auction, Reno, Sale of July 25, 2015, Lot 84.

Acquired directly from the above sale.

Exhibited:

Great Falls, Trigg-C. M. Russell Foundation, "Montana 1880-1910 with Henry Farny and His Subjects," 1965.

Cincinnati, Indian Hill Historical Museum, "Henry F. Farny," 1975.

Notre Dame, The Snite Museum of Art, "The Realistic Expressions of Henry Farny: A Retrospective, May 3 – July 11, 1981.

Oklahoma City, The National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Literature:

Trigg-C. M. Russell Foundation, Montana 1880-1910 with Henry Farny and His Subjects, exhibition catalogue, Great Falls, 1965, illustrated.

Indian Hill Historical Museum, Henry F. Farny, exhibition catalogue, Cincinnati, 1975, no. 15, illustrated in halftone.

Denny Carter, Henry Farny, New York, 1978, page 56, illustrated in halftone.

Marlou J. Quintana, The Realistic Expressions of Henry Farny: A Retrospective, exhibition catalog, Santa Fe, 1981, page 49, illustrated.

Lot Note:

In Distant Village, we are acquainted with the kind of respectful and dignified portraiture that became Farny’s trademark. By 1890, the Great Plains Indians had already endured brutal conflict and deprivation. But instead of focusing solely on their tragic plight, Farny sought to portray the strength and resilience of the Plains tribes in the face of existential challenges.

The trials experienced by the sitter and his village are subtly conveyed by his slouching shoulders—nearly imperceptibly so—and the teepees dotting the land in the distance, a visual reminder of receding tradition. Even so, coupled with a steady gaze, the posture of the sitter bespeaks an imposing, if calm and quiet, presence. His figure, firmly mounted on the horse, looms large over the landscape, dominating the composition, even rising above the mesas in the background thanks to the perspective adopted by the artist. Such a show of fortitude is intentional, a rebuke to cultural and material oppression.

Distant Village displays a documentary quality not unlike the photographs of Edward Curtis, who was also capturing Native American life during the same period, but it avoids common pitfalls of staged portraiture such as simplification. Here, Farny tells the complex story of the resistance to forced assimilation. Against the odds, the titular village in the distance resolutely and defiantly grounds the sitter in his deep-rooted and longstanding physical and cultural environment.