"One With The Eagle" by Dan Garrett (Contemporary), A Very Powerful Sculpture!

Here again I have managed to acquire a sculpture from an artist whose work has consistently made me drool. I've been hoping to add this to my collection for years, but given the consistently high prices that his work commands (usually well into the multiple thousands), I couldn't even think of doing much more than dreaming over pictures and hoping my lottery numbers are one day drawn. Last week the stars aligned for me - the seller listed this at a very low starting price right after I had been paid for a large job I had completed, and no one bid against me. Talk about luck! Now I get to drool over my very own bronze!

Dan Garrett is highly regarded for his very accurate and detailed sculptures of Native Americans. He has won many awards and commissions and his work is collected internationally. In 1986 he completed this sculpture for the Franklin Mint titled "One With The Eagle." Even given the origin, this was not an inexpensive or cheaply made sculpture, oh no. Mr. Garrett's attention to detail is plainly evident and helps make this one of the more highly prized sculptures produced by Franklin Mint. As that company is no longer producing bronze sculptures, these have become difficult to find.

Mr. Garrett has captured a very handsome Indian in the middle of his transformation to an eagle. His arms disappear into wings as he stands on a precipice ready to leap into flight. This is such a powerful and moving sculpture that once again, words fail to capture the beauty and wonder of the work. Hopefully my pictures will convey a small part of the strength of this sculpture. I'm thrilled to be fortunate enough to own such an incredible sculpture by an artist whose work I truly admire.

"One With The Eagle" by Dan Garrett, polychrome bronze, 1986, front

"One With The Eagle" by Dan Garrett, polychrome bronze, 1986, right

"One With The Eagle" by Dan Garrett, polychrome bronze, 1986, back

"One With The Eagle" by Dan Garrett, polychrome bronze, 1986, left

"One With The Eagle" by Dan Garrett, polychrome bronze, 1986, one more time because I can

"One With The Eagle" by Dan Garrett, polychrome bronze, 1986, underside

Small Contemporary Style Bronze By D. Jones - ???

A Buy-It-Now purchase at a very low price, I jumped on this sculpture within minutes of it being listed. I'm really tickled that I could acquire this pretty piece so very easily and at such a bargain!

All the info I have on this bronze is what is etched into it. Along the bottom on the back of this small (only a couple inches tall) sculpture of an Indian wrapped in a blanket with a decorative edge winding around the figure is "© 88 D Jones 2/30". That's it, that's all I know. The design is very Southwestern, though I have no idea if that is where this was made. If anyone out there knows, please tell me!!

Indian in a blanket, D. Jones, 1988, bronze, front

Indian in a blanket, D. Jones, 1988, bronze, right

Indian in a blanket, D. Jones, 1988, bronze,, back

Indian in a blanket, D. Jones, 1988, bronze, left

Doug McDonald (contemporary) - Red Cloud Bust

This spectacular polychromatic bronze bust of Red Cloud by Connecticut artist Doug McDonald was a very happy find and a very lucky win! The seller had it listed as a "bookend, but I only have one." Well, being number 9 of 15 ever made, this is far from a bookend. I think that's why no one else bid against me - who wants only one bookend? In my opinion, anyone treating a fine work of art such as this in such a cavalier manner should really be talked to.

Doug McDonald's background is in fine arts, having worked for years in his family's brass sculpture business. These days he runs a company called Yankee Ingenuity in Lyme, Connecticut as a higher end contractor and home renovation specialist. A link to his website is to the right. He applies his artist's eye to construction projects and has an impressive portfolio. While it does not seem that he has been sculpting in bronze since the mid-80's, he clearly still flexes his artistic "muscles" in every job he takes on.


This sculpture depicts Red Cloud (Maȟpíya Lúta in Lakota, 1822-1909), an Ogllala Lakota warrior and chief who fought very successfully against the invading US army but eventually signed the Treaty of Ft. Laramie and lead his people into reservation life. He was very highly respected during his lifetime and his memory is still revered today. His descendents continue to be named as leaders in their tribes and bands.

This bronze was sculpted in 1984 and is number 9 of 15. It is quite large. The level of detail shows the artist's deep dedication to his work, and the many different patinas shows a mastery in that regard as well. It's an amazing piece. Truly, words fail me when I try to describe this beautiful sculpture. Enjoy!

"Red Cloud" by Doug McDonald, polychrome bronze, 1984, 9/15, front

"Red Cloud" by Doug McDonald, polychrome bronze, 1984, 9/15, 1/2 right

"Red Cloud" by Doug McDonald, polychrome bronze, 1984, 9/15, right

"Red Cloud" by Doug McDonald, polychrome bronze, 1984, 9/15, back

"Red Cloud" by Doug McDonald, polychrome bronze, 1984, 9/15, left

"Red Cloud" by Doug McDonald, polychrome bronze, 1984, 9/15, signature

A Small Unsigned Bronze Of A Seated Indian Couple

This is yet another bronze that I had been following for a couple years in online auctions. I had thought the price was a little more than I wanted to spend, especially for a piece that is about two inches in its largest dimension and is unsigned and unattributed. After giving it much thought, I floated an offer to the seller that I felt was fair and it was accepted within minutes! I'm very happy that this incredible small bronze is now a part of my collection.

In this piece, a pair of Indians are seated with their legs crossed, both wrapped head to feet in blankets as they talk to each other. The figure on the left has his hands crossed in his lap, the figure on the right is leaning his head on his left hand with elbow propped on his lifted right knee. Since it does not have an official title that I know of, I like to call it "Council". For such a small sculpture it is very nicely detailed and has a lovely dark brown patina.

I have looked this over with my Luxo Magnifier very carefully and cannot find any sort of signature or maker's mark. If anyone out there knows who the sculptor was or where/when it was cast, please let me know!!

"Council", unsigned, bronze, front

"Council", unsigned, bronze, right

"Council", unsigned, bronze, back

"Council", unsigned, bronze, left

"Council", unsigned, bronze, underside

Indian Attacking Covered Wagon - Antique Bookends

Sometimes, if I get a good deal on a nice bookend or set of bookends, I'll add them to my collection. Bookends are widely collected and scarce examples can fetch very high premiums on the market, well into the thousands. I've seen this set before, but mainly made from painted plaster. This is the first set I've seen that are actually made from solid bronze, and boy are they heavy!

For such a small tableau, these bookends are very densely decorated and actually illustrate a story. Depicted here is a Plains Indian wearing a headdress, loincloth and moccasins riding his galloping horse in the foreground while having a shootout with a man who is standing in front of two "prairie schooner" covered wagons in the background, at the top. The level of detail is amazing! Neither bookend is signed, but an even more detailed version of this design was made of a mixture of wood pulp and resin that was molded to look like carved wood by a company called Syracuse Ornamental Company or Syroco. It is entirely possible that at some time in the past, someone used a Syroco bookend to throw a mold, then cast this set in bronze. There was a lot of copyright infringement back then, especially when it came to decorative pieces like these. As far as I know, Syroco never made bronze bookends...

Still in all, they're a very nicely made and solid pair of bookends. If anyone knows more about them, drop me a note!

Indian Attacks Wagons bookends, bronze, pair

Indian Attacks Wagons bookends, bronze, front

Indian Attacks Wagons bookends, bronze, back

Indian Attacks Wagons bookends, bronze, underside

Antique Indian Head Blotter - For The Discerning Desk!

I picked up this Victorian Art Nouveau ink blotter recently in an online auction. It is another piece that I feel fits into the definition of "decorative art" quite nicely. It is made of cast iron that was painted to look like patinated bronze. The original enamel paint is chipped in a few places, but aside from that age related wear the blotter is in magnificent condition. Depicted on the top of the base is an Indian head wearing a headdress and necklace inside a heart shaped border. Underneath are a peace pipe and tomahawk crossed. The handle is highly detailed with mirrored free-form lines and dots in a very pleasing shape. There is still an old but unused piece of blotter paper attached to the underside.

I'm a huge fan of objects from the Art Nouveau period that were highly decorated beyond anything made today. The creators truly believed that function should not be devoid of a pleasing form. In this piece, it is so well designed as to appear to be sculptural rather than utilitarian. Even the screws that hold the handle to the base are shaped like flower buds or nuts. It's a very handsome piece, one that I could very easily imagine on a gentleman's roll top desk a hundred years ago. It's now on my antique roll top desk, and it looks like it belongs there.

After a fair bit of research, I found that this blotter was made in the late 19teens to about the mid-1920'S by the H. L. Judd Hardware Company. More on the Judd Company and their decorative wares will follow in a future post.

Antique Indian head blotter, painted cast iron, front

Antique Indian head blotter, painted cast iron, left

Antique Indian head blotter, painted cast iron, back

Antique Indian head blotter, painted cast iron, right

Antique Indian head blotter, painted cast iron, apart

Antique Indian head blotter, painted cast iron, base

Antique Indian head blotter, painted cast iron, underside