MARTIN GRELLE (American, b. 1954). The Hunter's Cabin, 1987. Oil on linen. 24 x 36 inches (61.0 x 91.4 cm). Signed and d...

Description

MARTIN GRELLE (American, b. 1954)
The Hunter's Cabin, 1987
Oil on linen
24 x 36 inches (61.0 x 91.4 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: CA Martin Grelle / 1987 / ©

Martin Grelle was fortunate to have been born and raised in Clifton, Texas. As a high school student, he met and was befriended by two highly successful and influential western artists, Melvin Warren and James Boren, who were both members of the Cowboy Artists of America. Those two artists, who helped establish Clifton and Bosque County as something of an artists' colony, became mentors to the young artist. Through their inspiration and guidance, Grelle was able to develop his natural artistic talent and eventually followed in their footsteps. Like his mentors before him, Grelle was chosen to join the Cowboy Artists of America in 1995. Since that time, his work has steadily increased in demand, and he is now one of the most popular western artists in the country. He is one of only five artists that have twice won the Prix de West purchase award at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

His work spans the historic and contemporary West. He is as successful in depicting the lives of nineteenth century Northern Plains Indians as he is at portraying the lives of today's cowboys. His work is informed by his reading of western history and by his ability to record faithfully the grandeur of the western landscape. In The Hunter's Cabin, he creates a scene that could be drawn from almost any time period, a lone hunter leads his pack horse toward a small cabin tucked in a mountain clearing. The season is early fall and the trees are beginning to show their late autumn splendor. The hunter is bringing the supplies that will sustain him through the long winter. Grelle has effectively captured the natural beauty of the mountains and forest and has also added a hint of a story. His intent is to add just enough of a narrative element to pique the interest of his viewer. Of his paintings he says, "I try to execute it in a way that leaves parts of the painting up to the viewer's imagination, so they can enjoy the process of inventing the painting along with me."


More information about MARTIN GRELLE. See also: Grelle, Martin, Martin Grelle Artist.

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