G. Harvey (American, 1933-2017). The Mountain Man, 1976. Oil on canvas. 40 x 36 inches (101.6 x 91.4 cm). Signed and dat...

Description

G. Harvey (American, 1933-2017)
The Mountain Man, 1976
Oil on canvas
40 x 36 inches (101.6 x 91.4 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: G. Harvey / 1976
Titled and inscribed on the stretcher bar: "The Mountain Man" #4228

PROVENANCE:
The artist;
Meinhard Galleries, Houston, Texas;
Foster and Mildred Parker, Houston, Texas, acquired from the above, circa 1976;
By descent to the present owner.

Gerald Harvey Jones, better known as G. Harvey, grew up in the Texas Hill Country listening to his father and grandfather tell stories about ranch life and frontier days in Texas, all the while driving cattle across the Red River. His grandfather was a cowboy during the trail-driving era when legends grew up along the dusty trails north of Texas. Family stories of wild cattle and tough men were absorbed and became the genesis of G. Harvey's art. A graduate in fine arts at North Texas State University, Harvey taught full-time and painted nights and weekends for several years. It was through painting that he found his greatest satisfaction, and his native central Texas Hill Country provided the inspiration for most of his earliest work.

In some parts of the rural West, cowhands still do the same chores and meet the same challenges they performed a hundred years ago. From the turn of one century to the next, basic life has changed little. Herding cattle, worrying about drought and water, mending fences, and dealing with extreme heat and cold, still needs to be done by the cowhand, whom himself has not changed. For him, being a "cowboy" is more than a dream. It is a reality he faces every day and night with inner strength as his greatest asset. Among the western painters of today, there is none more capable of encapsulating this narrative than G. Harvey. In paintings such as The Mountain Man, he encourages the viewer to see his subject's physical elements and sense an overarching mood.

The Mountain Man tells the romantic story of the cowboy's life surviving and thriving within the ever-changing terrain. A rider and his pack horse navigate a rugged winter path as a glimpse of warm light filters through the mountain range, acting as a dramatic spotlight on the subject of the composition. The landscape is still and quiet, yet Harvey cleverly captures movement and life by depicting the icy breath of the rider and his horses. The Mountain Man is a powerful representation of Harvey's exceptional aptitude for capturing not only the atmospheric qualities of the landscape but the bond between horse and man - the fundamentals of cowboy life in the traditional American West.


More information about Harvey, G. (Gerald Harvey Jones). See also: G. (Gerald Harvey Jones) Harvey Artist.



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