I purchased this bronze Indian in an online auction from a seller who was only 15 minutes away from me! I met with them and picked it up in person and had a quite pleasant visit with a very nice couple of folks.
I know very little about either this piece or sculptor. The artist, Jim Newman (I thought the signature read "Neuman" but I've come to find out it's really "Newman"), did a small series of Indian dancers in bronze as well as at least half a dozen or so other Western themed bronzes. He also sculpted a leaping bass belt buckle that was sold exclusively by Bass Pro Shops, probably sometime in the late 1970's. That's about the sum of what I've been able to find. My research has lead to dead end after dead end. Condition-wise, this bronze is in excellent shape save for most likely missing something that was held in the hands. All of the other Indian dancers by Jim Newman that I've seen have been holding something like a fan, rattle or snake (though I believe this to be a Buffalo Dancer), and the hands of this Indian are curled to hold something as well. As I can't find another picture of this sculpture, I may never know what those things were. All of the other dancers were numbered and dated in the late 1970's, and though I can see where the marks were, they were ground off the bottom when it was leveled at the foundry. It's solid bronze, even the base, and is incredibly heavy for its size. Even with the bits missing, I think it's a lovely piece, and looks great in my collection.
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| "Indian Dancer II" by Jim Neuman, bronze, front |
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| "Indian Dancer II" by Jim Neuman, bronze, back |
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| "Indian Dancer II" by Jim Neuman, bronze, signature |
Jim Newman was a talented individual. He was an independent sales representative for the Marlin firearms Co for many years in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He moved to Alexandria, VA and opened a small shop selling carvings and bronze sculptured belt buckles, hash pipes and table top sculptures with a western theme. He met Sam Cummings and Dick Winter from Interarms and agreed to represent that company in Texas.He was still actively selling for Interarms in Texas into the early 1990,s.
ReplyDeleteJim Newman was a talented individual. He was an independent sales representative for the Marlin firearms Co for many years in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He moved to Alexandria, VA and opened a small shop selling carvings and bronze sculptured belt buckles, hash pipes and table top sculptures with a western theme. He met Sam Cummings and Dick Winter from Interarms and agreed to represent that company in Texas.He was still actively selling for Interarms in Texas into the early 1990,s.
ReplyDeleteThank you VERY much for your message! I had been unable to find anything about him, regardless of how I searched. Your remembrances are deeply appreciated!!
DeleteFrank B
The Bronze Hound