Ira Moskowitz

Navajo Horse Race — Southwest Regionalism, Native American Subject

1946

Ira Moskowitz, 'Navajo Trading Post', lithograph, 1946, edition 30, Czestochowski 161. Signed and dated in the stone, lower left. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper...

Ira Moskowitz, 'Navajo Courtship Dance (Squaw Dance)', lithograph, 1946, edition 30, Czestochowski 161. Signed and titled in pencil. Signed and dated in the stone, lower left. A fine...

Ira Moskowitz, 'The Three Gods of Healing (Navajo Medicine Ceremony of the Night Chant)', lithograph, 1945, edition 30, Czestochowski 148. Signed and titled in pencil. Signed and dat...

William Robinson Leigh, 'Foul Rope (Left)', etching, c. 1920, edition unknown but small. Signed in pencil and signed in the plate, lower left. A superb, richly-inked impression, in dark brown ink, on buff wove Umbria paper, the full sheet with margins (1 1/2 to 2 3/4 inches); slight toning at the sheet edges, otherwise in excellent condition. Very scarce. Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 14 7/8 x 11 15/16 inches (378 x 303 mm); sheet size 20 3/8 x 15 3/8 inches (518 x 391 mm). ABOUT THE ARTIST Born near Falling Waters, West Virginia, on a plantation a year after the Civil War and raised in Baltimore, William Robinson Leigh (1866 - 1955) became one of the foremost painters of the American West. His career spanning some seventy-five years, Leigh created some of the most iconic depictions of the Western landscape, with admirers referring to him as ‘The Sagebrush Rembrandt.’ The son of impoverished Southern aristocrats, Leigh received his first art training at age 14 from Hugh Newell at the Maryland Institute, where he was regarded as the best student in his class. From 1883 to 1895, he studied in Europe, mainly at the Royal Academy in Munich with Ludwig Loefftz. From 1891 to 1896, he painted six cycloramas or murals in the round, a giant German panorama. In 1896, Leigh began working as a magazine illustrator for Scribner's and Collier's Weekly Magazine in New York City. He also painted portraits, landscapes, and genre scenes. Leigh's trips to the Southwest began in 1906 when he agreed to paint the Grand Canyon with William Simpson, Santa Fe Railway advertising manager, in exchange for free transportation West. In 1907, he completed his Grand Canyon painting, which led to more commissions and an extensive painting trip through Arizona and New Mexico. These travels inspired him to paint western subjects for the next 50 years, and his primary interests were the Hopi and Navajo Indians. In 1910, he traveled to Wyoming, where he painted in Yellowstone Park and created sketches, many of which he later converted into large canvases such as ‘Lower Falls of the Yellowstone’ (1915) and ‘Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone’ (1911). In 1926, he traveled to Africa at the invitation of Carl Akeley for the American Museum of Natural History, and from this experience, wrote and illustrated 'Frontiers of Enchantment: An Artist's Adventures in Africa'. In 1933, he wrote and illustrated 'The Western Pony'. His adventures were chronicled in several popular magazines, including Life, the Saturday Evening Post, and Colliers. For many years, Grand Central Art Galleries at the Biltmore Hotel handled his work exclusively in New York. In 1953, Leigh was elected an associate member of the National Academy of Design and became a full Academician in 1955. In March 1999, the Historical Center of Cody, Wyoming, held an exhibition of his field sketches and finished works depicting his experiences near Cody early in the century. Between 1910 and 1921, when he often painted in the Carter Mountain vicinity, these years were considered pivotal to his artistic development and devotion to the Western landscape. Leigh's work is held in many museum collections of American Western art...

Frank Nelson Wilcox (American, 1887–1964) Wild Horses, Arizona, 1937 Watercolor on paper Signed and dated lower right, titled verso 15 x 20 inches 18 x 24 inches framed Frank Nelso...

Noel Daggett, American (1925 - 2005) - Approach of a Rider, Year: circa 1979, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, AP 40, Image Size: 19 x 23 inches, ...

Apache Hunter, limited edition lithograph by Allan Houser, horseback hunter hand-pulled black and white lithograph printed in Santa Fe, New Mexico unframed edition of 75 Allan Houser (Haozous), Chiricahua Apache (1914-1994) Selected Collections Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France * “They’re Coming”, bronze Dahlem Museum, Berlin, Germany Japanese Royal Collection, Tokyo, Japan “The Eagle”, black marble commissioned by President William J. Clinton United States Mission to the United Nations, New York City, NY *"Offering of the Sacred Pipe”, monumental bronze by Allan Houser © 1979 Presented to the United States Mission to the United Nations as a symbol of World Peace honoring the native people of all tribes in these United States of America on February 27, 1985 by the families of Allan and Anna Marie Houser, George and Thelma Green and Glenn and Sandy Green in New York City. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, Washington, DC * Portrait of Geronimo, bronze National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C. * “Buffalo Dance Relief”, Indiana limestone National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C. *Sacred Rain Arrow, (Originally dedicated at the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, US Senate Building) “Goat”, “To The Great Spirit” - dedicated in 1994 at the Vice President’s Residence in Washington, D.C.. Ceremony officiated by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Tipper Gore. Oklahoma State Capitol, Oklahoma City, Ok * “As Long As the Waters Flow”, bronze Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK *Sacred Rain Arrow, bronze Fort Sill, Oklahoma *”Chiricahua Apache Family”, bronze Donated and dedicated to Allan Houser’s parents Sam and Blossom Haozous by Allan Houser and Glenn and Sandy Green The Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona *Earth Song, marble donated by Glenn and Sandy Green   The Clinton Presidential Library, Arkansas * “May We Have Peace”, bronze The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library, College Station, Texas *"Offering to the Great Spirit", bronze The British Royal Collection, London, England *Princess Anne received "Proud Mother", bronze in Santa Fe Allan Houser’s father Sam Haozous, surrendered at the age of 14 with Geronimo and his band of Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache people in 1886 in Southern Arizona. This was the last active war party in the United States. This group of Apache people was imprisoned for 27 years starting in Fort Marion, Florida and finally living in captivity in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Allan Houser was born in 1914. His artwork is an ongoing testimony to Native life in America – its beauty, strength and poignancy. Allan Houser is from the culture and portrayed his people in an insightful and authentic way. Because of the era in which he lived, he had a rare understanding of American Indian life. Allan was the first child born after the Chiricahua Apaches were released from 27 years of captivity. Allan grew up speaking the Chiricahua dialect. Allan heard his father’s stories of being on the warpath with Geronimo and almost nightly heard his parents singing traditional Apache music. Allan’s father knew all of Geronimo’s medicine songs. Allan had an early inclination to be artistic. He was exposed to many Apache ceremonial art forms: music, musical instruments, special dress, beadwork, body painting and dynamic dance that are integral aspects of his culture. His neighbors were members of many different tribes who lived in Oklahoma. Allan eagerly gained information about them and their cultures. Allan gathered this information and mentally stored images until he brought them back to life, years later, as a mature artist. Allan Houser was represented by Glenn Green Galleries (formerly known as The Gallery Wall, Inc.) from 1973 until his death in 1994. The gallery served as agents, advocates, and investors during this time. In 1973 the Greens responded enthusiastically to the abstraction and creativity in Houser’s work. They were impressed, not only with his versatility and talent but with the number of mediums he employed. His subject matter was portrayed in styles ranging from realism, stylized form to abstraction. With encouragement from the Greens, Houser at the age of 61, retired from his post as the head of the sculpture department at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1975 to begin working full-time creating his art. The next 20-year period was an exciting time for Allan, the gallery, and for the Green family. He created a large body of sculpture in stone, wood and bronze. For many years Glenn Green Galleries co-sponsored many editions of his bronzes and acted as quality control for the bronze sculptures according to Houser’s wishes. As both agents and gallery representatives, the Greens promoted and sold his art in their galleries in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona and in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They had bi-annual exhibits in their galleries to feature Houser’s newest work and sponsored and arranged international museum shows in America, Europe and Asia. They travelled for these events including a trip to Carrara, Italy to the famed quarries of Michelangelo and together co-financed and arranged the purchase of 20 tons of marble. A watershed event for Allan Houser’s career occurred in the early 1980’s when Glenn Green Galleries arranged with the US Information Agency a touring exhibit of his sculpture through Europe. This series of exhibits drew record attendance for these museums and exposed Houser’s work to an enthusiastic art audience. This resulted in changing the perception of contemporary Native art in the United States where Houser and Glenn Green Galleries initially faced resistance from institutions who wanted to categorize him in a regional way. The credits from the European exhibits helped open doors and minds of the mainstream art community in the United States and beyond. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii was a supporter of Allan Houser’s artwork. We worked with Senator Inouye on many occasions hosting events at our gallery and in Washington D.C in support of the formation of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. and other causes supporting Native Americans. Allan Houser is shown below presenting his sculpture “Swift Messenger” to Senator Inouye in Washington, D.C.. This sculpture was eventually given to the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian’s permanent collection. It is now currently on loan and on display in the Oval Office. President Biden’s selection of artwork continues our gallery’s and Allan’s connection to the White House from our time working with Allan Houser from 1974 until his passing in 1994. “It was important for President Biden to walk into an Oval that looked like America and started to show the landscape of who he is going to be as president,” Ashley Williams...

Noel Daggett, American (1925 - 2005) - We Shall Not Talk of War, Year: circa 1979, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, AP 40, Image Size: 19 x 25 inc...