———-Native American———- |
“Osceola” |
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• 2019 • Bronze • Tint – ferric/brown • Height 23”, Depth 9”, Width 17” • 44 lbs • Series of 24Price upon request The Seminole people are a polyglot of not only several tribes, but also several races. They had their origins primarily in the Creek nation, some of whom migrated into Florida from Georgia, and were also sometimes referred to as Lower Creeks. Osceola was born and named Billy Powell, in Georgia as the son of a Scottish trader and a mixed race Creek woman named Polly Coppinger. The Creeks were one of the Southeastern tribes that owned slaves and they intermarried, so Polly reflected that heritage. Since the records of his appearance contain only the images created by several painters, I have taken the liberty of depicting him in this bust as a robust young warrior whose features reflect his mixed heritage. |
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• 2013 • Bronze • Patina – Red/Brown • Height 19” Width 9” Depth 12” • 25 lbs. Series of 18Price Upon Request |
| Geronimo’s story has been widely told and his status as an American Indian icon is forever guaranteed by every kid who jumps off a bridge into a swimming hole repeating the WWII paratroopers cry. He was in fact a remarkable individual. A leader of the Bedonkohe Apache, he was an incredible fighter, both a fearsome warrior and a remarkably skilled tactician.. He became a thorn in the side of first the Mexican Army and then the U.S.Cavalry in the mid to late 19th century. His encounters with the Mexican Army were many in his late teens and early twenties, as he raided, stole horses and occasionally killed Mexicans. The event that was a tragic game changer for him was a raid on his village by the Mexican Army, where they killed his wife, mother and children while he was off on a raid of his own. Thereafter, the ferocity of his actions against his enemies may be better understood.
This sculpture is intended to reflect some of the intensity of Geronimo’s response to his family’s destruction and depicts him as a young man, intent on dispatching a foe with a throwing knife. Although most of the photographs available of him were taken in his middle and later life, his stature and facial likeness here are intended to realistically represent Geronimo in his mid twenties. The study captures him in the midst of throwing the knife, the energy of his legs and turning body transmitted to the trailing right arm, the knife held in the fingertips for quick release. |
“Medicine Crow” |
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• 2004 • Bronze • Tint – brown/black/bronze • Height 22”, Length 14”, Width 9” • 82 lbs. with base • Series of 12Done from 1908 photograph by Edward S. Curtis. |
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| Apsaroke Crow chief, Medicine Crow, whose name translates more accurately as Sacred Raven, was born in the Musselshell country around 1848. He was born into the Kicked in the Bellies division of the Crows, member of the New Made Lodge clan and Lumpwood warrior society. He was the son of Jointed Together, reportedly a prominent headman, who died, probably of smallpox, before he was born. His mother, One Buffalo Calf, later married a medicine man named Sees The Living Bull who became influential in his upbringing. During his late teens he fasted often and experienced visions which proved prophetic, one involving the coming of the white man and, thus influenced many of his later actions.
Medicine Crow joined his first war party at the age of 15 and over the next nineteen years he obtained the honors necessary to become a chieftain. His battles were primarily against the Lakotas and involved the critical warrior requirement of counting “coups”. In 1876, along with 176 other Crows, he joined General George Crooks troops at the battle of the Rosebud and a year later led the Crow scouts with US Troops against the Nez Pierce, where a Lt. John Bourke observed “ Medicine Crow, the Crow Chief, looked like a devil in his war bonnet of feathers, furs and buffalo horns.” In 1880, along with a delegation of 5 other tribesmen, he went to Washington to negotiate settlements in the Crow agency and divide the land into individual farms. There, it is reported his artistic side flourished and he spent time sketching the animals he saw in the Washington zoo. While other tribes were moved from their land, he was influential in establishing the Crow Agency on ground they occupied. Medicine Crow settled in Lodge Grass Creek, where he took up farming. In 1890 he was appointed a tribal judge and he was a force in maintaining tribal unity, firmly opposing the sale of tribal lands. He died in 1920 and is buried in the area of the Little Big Horn, the Valley of Chieftains. He reportedly had taken 6 wives. His last grandson is Chief Joseph Medicine Crow, now 94 and one of the official tribe historians. |
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“Geronimo” 1907 |
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• 2014 • Bronze • Patina – Red/Brown • Height 13” Width 6.5” Depth 10” • 21 lbs. Series of 18Price Upon Request |
| This head was done using a photograph of Geronimo, taken by Adolph Muhr and dated 1913. The problem with that is that Geronimo died on February 17, 1909, so, I used the 1909 date to identify the fact that Geronimo was near the end of his life at the time and showing the effects of a long, hard, battle-filled existence. His hair , though thinning, is still thick for a man in his late seventies, his cheekbones pronounced and his cheeks hollow. He had a notable wart on his right cheek and an unexplained indentation on his right temple, the result most likely of a significant wound earlier in life. This is the visage of a fierce and proud old warrior. |
Mustang |
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• 2015 • Bronze • Patina – Black • Height 15”, Width 7”, Depth 22”• 27 lbs.• Series of 24Price Upon Request |
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| The first thing about this piece is that I love horses. Since I grew up with them, cared for them, rode them, trained them, taught others to ride and care for them, I truly love them. I feel at a loss when I don’t see one for a while. They all have distinct personalities and are definitely their “own person “, if you will. To me they are like large dogs and can be every bit as loyal once they get to know you.
They are also very large, powerful creatures, for which we humans must show some considerable respect. Seen from the perspective of anatomy and efficiency of function, they are truly magnificent. There is a regal elegance to them which is commanding and the image of the free mustang running across the western plains is a metaphor for the wild west. It is all of those feelings that I have sought to convey in this piece done from a photograph and from memory. |
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