ATTRIBUTED TO CHARLES DEAS (American 1818-1867)

Description

ATTRIBUTED TO CHARLES DEAS (American 1818-1867)
Indian on Horseback
Oil on panel
23.5in. x 19.5in. oval
Inscribed on verso: Charles L (indiscernible) No 3
Old label on verso inscribed: Margaret G. Claxton, Philadelphia, PA
Framed in an antique spotted cove frame
Provenance: Ms. Margaret G. Claxton, Philadelphia c. 1950; Alexander Gallery, NYC; private collection, Dallas

An important and early painter of Indian and frontier life on the Great Plains, Charles Deas was born in Philadelphia into a family of career military. His grandfather, Ralph Izard, was a Revolutionary War hero, and Deas was expected to follow a military path and study at West Point Military Academy. However, Deas was more inclined to art after he saw an exhibition at the Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Art. He began his training with Thomas Sully and later studied in New York at the National Academy of Design for two years. He made his exhibition debut at the Academy in 1838 and became known for sporting and domestic scenes. He was elected an Associate of the Academy in 1839.

During a visit to Philadelphia, Deas saw some of George Catlin's Indian paintings and was greatly inspired "to visit the scenes of Nature's own children, to share the repast of the hunter and taste the wild excitement of frontier life." In 1840, Deas traveled west to visit his brother at Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He made numerous sketches of Indians and frontier scenery and began painting the scenes for which he is best known today. For the next several years, Deas had a permanent studio in St. Louis and made sketching excursions to Fort Winnebago, Fort Snelling, St. Anthony's Falls, and became friendly with members of the Sioux and Pawnee Indian tribes. The Pawnees fondly nicknamed Deas "Rocky Mountain" because he dressed like a fur hunter. Deas had a considerable following in St. Louis, as well as back East where he continued to exhibit and sell paintings.

Over the course of his career, Deas exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Many of his works were made into engravings, which enhanced his reputation nationally. He returned to New York City in 1847, only to suffer a mental breakdown that affected his painting. Despite his huge successes throughout his career, only a very few of his paintings have survived.

Condition: areas of inpaint in horse's face, approximately 5 percent inpaint throughout background

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