Next up is a piece by yet another overlooked artist (undeservedly overlooked, in my opinion). Joseph Franklin De Yong (also spelled DeYong, deYong and de Yong, 1894-1975) was born in Missouri but raised in Indian Territory (known as Oklahoma today). He was a childhood friend of Will Rogers and poked cattle as a teenager with Tom Mix, most likely on the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch outside of Ponca City, Oklahoma (they ran a Wild West show, much like Buffalo Bill's). A bout of spinal meningitis at 18 left him profoundly deaf and weak on one side of his body, though the weakness eventually passed. During his recuperation, he wrote letters to his favorite artist, Charles Marion Russell, whose works he had seen in magazines. Russell hired on the talented young artist as his assistant in 1916, a position De Yong held until Russell's death in 1926 (they were both fluent in Indian sign language - the studio was said to be a quiet place!). He went on to become a successful technical consultant and set designer for Western movies made by such friends as John Wayne and Cecil B. DeMille, though he never married or had children.
Joe De Yong's works have, until recently, fallen into the Zelig-like space of "also ran". He was there at all the important events and knew everyone of consequence, but was not himself famous. It's a position that he did not deserve. I think that had he pushed his own work more than spending his life after 1926 safeguarding Russell's legacy, his work would be better known to the world at large. Fortunately for us all, Joe De Yong's fame is only growing every year.
This piece is something of a conundrum for me. Titled "Piegan Indian Head", the original casting was done most likely in the 1920's or 30's, in a run of 35. My bronze is not numbered, not signed and actually has greater detail (especially in the robe and hair) than the original casts! I'm somewhat befuddled by it. I have never heard of anyone (in their right mind or not) making knockoffs of Joe De Yong's bronzes. He just wasn't that popular. Yet this one is clearly newer than the original casts, but still has some real age to it. My guess is, toward the end of his life, Joe had new casts made from his original model, probably using the lost wax method. Now, if the originals were sand cast, that could easily explain the difference in the level of detail between the two. Unfortunately, most of the people who could have cleared up the mystery have passed on. If anyone out there knows the real story, please let me know!
P.S. - The white you see on the piece is what happens when you're distracted in
the middle of waxing a bronze and don't get back to polish it for a
week.
P.P.S - I have recently purchased another copy of this piece, this one signed by the artist. I am looking forward to comparing the two when it arrives. Stay tuned!
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| "Piegan Indian Head" by Joe De Yong, bronze, front |
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| "Piegan Indian Head" by Joe De Yong, bronze, left |
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| "Piegan Indian Head" by Joe De Yong, bronze, back |
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| "Piegan Indian Head" by Joe De Yong, bronze, right |
Hi. Where did you find information about this piece? I recently acquired a signed version.
ReplyDeleteHi there! Most of my information came from old stories in books, newspapers and biographies. I have a pretty good collection of Western art books, and many more are available online at Google Books. The best bet is to do a search using "Joe DeYong" and "Joe De Yong" as your search terms - use the quote marks too. That'll bring up all sorts of fun stories. Joe tended to like telling his stories, from what I gather, and there is a bit of "drift" to the tales too. :)
ReplyDeleteGreetings, we are blessed to have one of these bronzes with his name and numbered looks like 1/1 any way I can send you photos and get your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteSure! I'd love to see it. My email address is art.antiques.hound@gmail.com.
DeleteIn 1926, Charlie Russell's health was in decline due to his thyroid malfunctioning, which either caused or exacerbated heart failure. Joe had had an offer from artist Ed Borein in California to study bronze casting, and Charlie just about pushed him out the door to take advantage of the education. I think it likely that Charlie knew his time was short (his doctor had told him as much) and he wanted his closest friend to not be right there when he passed, and to have the support of good friends at the same time (Joe was single and deaf and only had his elderly mother for close family). Joe mentioned in several letters that I've read that not being there for Charlie at the end was one of the greatest upsets of his life, but I think Charlie meant it as a gift of sorts.
Now, regarding these "Head of a Piegan" busts, I believe that Joe probably didn't carry much from Montana to what he thought was going to be a temporary situation at Ed Borein's ranch and that he only brought a couple of his older sculptures to copy. I've read that Joe used to sell his small bronzes in person, to people whom he met (often on Western movie sets), and that he'd also give them as gifts to his friends. I'm not certain how many he cast, but I'm pretty certain that he cast them all himself, some likely with the help of the Boreins. As a great many of Joe's California friends were folks like John Wayne and Cecil B. DeMille, most of them have quite the pedigree!
Cheers,
Frank B.
The Bronze Hound