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Lot Essay
Howard Terpning is perhaps the most celebrated Western American painter of the post-World War II era. Terpning’s technique is defined by complex compositional design, deft brushwork and a dramatic use of light. He applies these techniques to great effect to create reverential images of the early inhabitants of the American West and their histories in a manner that embraces their own storytelling tradition. Leader of Men is a tour de force, characteristic of Terpning’s best work and recalls a great tradition of Western American portraiture.
Terpning first came to fame in the 1960s as the accomplished illustrator responsible for the posters for many of the decade’s significant Hollywood films, including Cleopatra, The Sound of Music, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind and Doctor Zhivago. Through this experience, Terpning learned the importance of not just rendering a story, but of pulling a viewer into a composition and making them emotionally invested in the image’s characters. Eventually, the artist’s own passion for the American West, coupled with his success as an illustrator, allowed him to pursue easel painting full-time. Through his efforts to engage the viewer with his subject and to develop their emotional involvement, their passion and their compassion, Terpning emphasized accuracy in his work.
In Leader of Men, Terpning directs the viewer through the composition to engage them further with his chosen subject. Making full use of his formal artistic training, Terpning consciously places the dark face and bonnet of his proud figure against a light-modulated background. The sitter’s cloak draws the viewer back to the figure’s stern gaze. In this way, Terpning brings the viewer into the canvas through the lighter formations and guides them by the diagonals of the beaded quiver, back again to the subject’s gaze.
Unwilling to compromise accuracy for the sake of artistry in works such as Leader of Men, which exhibits objects characteristic of the Crow Indians of the Northern Plains, Terpning relies heavily on years of experience and research. In preparation for such paintings, he gathered information, confirmed accuracy and executed numerous drawings. While he has not chosen a particular leader for the present work, Terpning has successfully rendered a representation that likely calls on various prominent leaders of the Indian community and figures in our national history, such as Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Plenty Coups and others. Thus, Leader of Men tells the story not of one individual, but rather the collective story of many important Native American leaders.
Similarly, Terpning relies, whether consciously or unconsciously, on the great tradition of Native American portraiture established by important American artist such as, George Catlin, Henry Inman and Charles Bird King, built upon by Joseph Henry Sharp’s work with the Crow at Little Big Horn at the turn of the century, and culminating in Edward Curtis’ attempts at documenting the “vanishing race.” In each period of representation, the works were developed to fulfill an insatiable public appetite for the mysterious beauty of the American West, but are unmistakably overtaken by each individual artist’s own personal experiences and sentiment towards his noble subject. Rendered in modern times, Terpning’s Leader of Men is further testament not only to the artist’s reverence for Native Americans, but to the contemporary public’s continued admiration for the Native American people.
Terpning first came to fame in the 1960s as the accomplished illustrator responsible for the posters for many of the decade’s significant Hollywood films, including Cleopatra, The Sound of Music, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind and Doctor Zhivago. Through this experience, Terpning learned the importance of not just rendering a story, but of pulling a viewer into a composition and making them emotionally invested in the image’s characters. Eventually, the artist’s own passion for the American West, coupled with his success as an illustrator, allowed him to pursue easel painting full-time. Through his efforts to engage the viewer with his subject and to develop their emotional involvement, their passion and their compassion, Terpning emphasized accuracy in his work.
In Leader of Men, Terpning directs the viewer through the composition to engage them further with his chosen subject. Making full use of his formal artistic training, Terpning consciously places the dark face and bonnet of his proud figure against a light-modulated background. The sitter’s cloak draws the viewer back to the figure’s stern gaze. In this way, Terpning brings the viewer into the canvas through the lighter formations and guides them by the diagonals of the beaded quiver, back again to the subject’s gaze.
Unwilling to compromise accuracy for the sake of artistry in works such as Leader of Men, which exhibits objects characteristic of the Crow Indians of the Northern Plains, Terpning relies heavily on years of experience and research. In preparation for such paintings, he gathered information, confirmed accuracy and executed numerous drawings. While he has not chosen a particular leader for the present work, Terpning has successfully rendered a representation that likely calls on various prominent leaders of the Indian community and figures in our national history, such as Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Plenty Coups and others. Thus, Leader of Men tells the story not of one individual, but rather the collective story of many important Native American leaders.
Similarly, Terpning relies, whether consciously or unconsciously, on the great tradition of Native American portraiture established by important American artist such as, George Catlin, Henry Inman and Charles Bird King, built upon by Joseph Henry Sharp’s work with the Crow at Little Big Horn at the turn of the century, and culminating in Edward Curtis’ attempts at documenting the “vanishing race.” In each period of representation, the works were developed to fulfill an insatiable public appetite for the mysterious beauty of the American West, but are unmistakably overtaken by each individual artist’s own personal experiences and sentiment towards his noble subject. Rendered in modern times, Terpning’s Leader of Men is further testament not only to the artist’s reverence for Native Americans, but to the contemporary public’s continued admiration for the Native American people.