Edwin Willard Deming (American, 1860-1942) Crow Indian Boy

Edwin Willard Deming (American, 1860-1942)

Crow Indian Boy
Signed with artist's cipher "...EWDEMING" l.r.
Oil on canvas, 11 3/4 x 14 in. (29.8 x 35.6 cm), framed.
Condition: Lined, craquelure.

Provenance: A private Massachusetts collection.

N.B. Edwin Deming was fascinated by drawing and by the indigenous people of the American West. Trained in both New York and Paris, he spent much of his career - nearly 30 years - visiting and living among various tribes. Working among the Yuma Apache, the Sioux, the Crow, the Pueblo, and the Umatilla, he was often accepted into their circles. The Blackfeet adopted him and his family, giving the artist the name Eight Bears. This intimate knowledge of the people and customs of the tribes with which he lived, allowed him to create large numbers of portraits that were deeply personal while simultaneously documenting the cultures that were slowly slipping away at the end of the 19th century.

A signed letter from Alden Deming, the artist's son, guaranteeing the authenticity of the work accompanies the lot.