PROPERTY FROM THE DUFFY AND TINA OYSTER FOUNDATION. . RAY SWANSON (American, 1937-2004). Shishmariff Eskimo, 1990. Oil o...

Description

PROPERTY FROM THE DUFFY AND TINA OYSTER FOUNDATION

RAY SWANSON (American, 1937-2004)
Shishmariff Eskimo, 1990
Oil on canvas laid on board
26 x 38 inches (66.0 x 96.5 cm)
Signed lower right: Ray Swanson / ©
Titled, signed, and dated verso: "Shishmariff Eskimo" Ray Swanson CA '90

Primarily known for his sensitive portrayal of the native people of the American Southwest, Ray Swanson spent his artistic career in far-ranging travels to depict everyday scenes in an extraordinary manner. He held a deep fascination for the many ways in which people from different cultures shared common concerns. Swanson grew up on a farm in South Dakota and developed an appreciation and respect for hardworking people who went about their daily tasks of providing for their families with little fanfare or recognition. He translated that respect into the many portraits he produced of the daily lives of people from a wide variety of cultures. In 1976, he made his first trip to the Arctic Circle, drawn there by his interest in the centuries-old connection between the Navajo and the people of the Far North. Of that trip, he said, "All the evidence seems to indicate that the Eskimos and the Navajos were connected in the past. I was intrigued with the opportunity to paint the primitive and difficult Eskimo lifestyle that was rapidly giving way to modernization." Swanson traveled extensively in the region, including the remote Bering Sea island of Little Diomede where he painted several people in the village of Shishmaref. His painting Shishmariff Eskimo is typical of the paintings developed from this trip. Known for his meticulous attention to detail, as evidenced by the precise rendering of the fur collar worn by his subject in this painting, Swanson has said that he carefully emphasized the many textures of the fur to draw a vivid contrast with the barren landscape.

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