Ed Mell, Attributed: Abstract Bucking Horse and Rider
Ed Mell (American, 1942–2024)
Dynamic Western composition depicting a bucking horse and rider transformed into a powerful arrangement of sharply faceted geometric planes. The horse dominates the composition in rich burnt orange and reddish-brown tones, while the rider is fragmented into angular passages of yellow, red, violet, blue, and black, creating a striking sense of movement, tension, and controlled energy.
Executed in mixed media on paper, apparently combining colored pencil, graphite and/or pastel or wax-based colored media. Strong black contour lines define the horse and rider, while layered areas of color and visible hand-worked strokes give the composition both graphic clarity and tactile character. The pale blue and softly pink background passages provide atmospheric contrast without distracting from the central figure.
The angular construction and compressed sense of motion strongly evoke the modernist interpretation of the American West associated with Ed Mell, in which traditional cowboy subjects are reduced to bold architectural shapes and dramatically simplified forms. Rather than presenting a conventional Western narrative, the composition captures the explosive instant of the bucking horse as an almost sculptural arrangement of interlocking color planes.
Bearing a stylized signature at the lower right of the composition. The reverse appears largely blank, with only minor age-related toning, light surface marks, faint spotting and handling wear visible in the photograph. No additional labels, inscriptions or markings are apparent on the verso.
A visually forceful Western work combining rodeo imagery with a distinctly modern geometric vocabulary. Its strong silhouette, vivid Southwestern palette and dramatic sense of movement make it particularly appealing for collections of American Western, Southwestern, cowboy, rodeo or modern figurative art.
DIMENSIONS
Height: 11 3/4 in.
Width: 9 1/8 in.
PROVENANCE
Private collection.
Condition
Overall good visual condition for a work on paper of apparent age. Minor toning, light handling wear, scattered faint spotting and slight surface irregularities are visible, particularly on the reverse. Unframed. Please refer to the photographs for additional condition details.
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
Ed Mell (American, 1942–2024)
Dynamic Western composition depicting a bucking horse and rider transformed into a powerful arrangement of sharply faceted geometric planes. The horse dominates the composition in rich burnt orange and reddish-brown tones, while the rider is fragmented into angular passages of yellow, red, violet, blue, and black, creating a striking sense of movement, tension, and controlled energy.
Executed in mixed media on paper, apparently combining colored pencil, graphite and/or pastel or wax-based colored media. Strong black contour lines define the horse and rider, while layered areas of color and visible hand-worked strokes give the composition both graphic clarity and tactile character. The pale blue and softly pink background passages provide atmospheric contrast without distracting from the central figure.
The angular construction and compressed sense of motion strongly evoke the modernist interpretation of the American West associated with Ed Mell, in which traditional cowboy subjects are reduced to bold architectural shapes and dramatically simplified forms. Rather than presenting a conventional Western narrative, the composition captures the explosive instant of the bucking horse as an almost sculptural arrangement of interlocking color planes.
Bearing a stylized signature at the lower right of the composition. The reverse appears largely blank, with only minor age-related toning, light surface marks, faint spotting and handling wear visible in the photograph. No additional labels, inscriptions or markings are apparent on the verso.
A visually forceful Western work combining rodeo imagery with a distinctly modern geometric vocabulary. Its strong silhouette, vivid Southwestern palette and dramatic sense of movement make it particularly appealing for collections of American Western, Southwestern, cowboy, rodeo or modern figurative art.
DIMENSIONS
Height: 11 3/4 in.
Width: 9 1/8 in.
PROVENANCE
Private collection.
Condition
Overall good visual condition for a work on paper of apparent age. Minor toning, light handling wear, scattered faint spotting and slight surface irregularities are visible, particularly on the reverse. Unframed. Please refer to the photographs for additional condition details.
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
