Antique Gas Cigar Lighter (converted to electric) - another undocumented antique

 Not long ago, I was cruising the auction listings when I saw this lamp pop up at an auction house in Syracuse, New York. I placed a low bid as I usually do and to my surprise I won it. I believe it is cast from spelter (zinc), though it could be cast in part from bronze as well. While this offering is not my typical purchase, it still fits comfortably within my collection.

I have looked far and wide online for a catalog or advertisement listing for my lamp but without success. At the time this was created, anywhere from the late 1820's to around 1900 (I think it's from the 1850's myself), there were quite a large number of companies that made substantial counter or tabletop cigar lighters that would have been plumbed into the building's gas supply via a rubber hose and would have had a gas jet at the top, aiming upward where the lightbulb socket is now located. It would have graced the study of a fine Victorian house or the countertop of a tobacconist's store. My lighter had been converted to an electric lamp sometime prior to the WWII, so most of the original plumbing is missing, though the original shade rest remains. The original shade is also a thing of history, having been replaced in prior years, probably when the lamp was electrified (my guess is during the 1930's). I have purchased a period correct etched glass bowl diffuser style shade which could have graced this lamp when it was new, though I may never know what the original shade looked like. I have left the stained glass shade on it however as the etched clear glass bowl shade does nothing to diffuse or hide a full sized lightbulb.

Depicted here is a seated smiling or smirking Native American warrior. He is sitting on a highly detailed plinth, very in keeping with the Victorian era in which this lamp was made. His shoulder length hair is pulled back into a topknot. He is dressed in what I can only describe as bearskin shorts and a fringed collar from which dangles bear claws, with a fur arm band wrapped around each bicep. He is holding a rifle across his raised right knee and left thigh. It is very much in keeping with early American and European artistic depictions of generic "American Indian men" typically made before the many Wild West shows began touring with genuine Native actors wearing their genuine clothes and accessories. The sculpt is exquisite, very Beaux Arts style, full of small details that never fail to catch the eye. The original finish has suffered some from the passage of time but is still mostly extant. Nothing on the lamp is damaged or missing save the gas parts. For that I am grateful.

If anyone knows the who, when and where of the creation of my cigar lighter, please let me know!

Antique Cigar Lighter, cast metal, unidentified, front with replacement shade on top

Antique Cigar Lighter, cast metal, unidentified, front with replacement shade off

Antique Cigar Lighter, cast metal, unidentified, back with replacement shade off

Antique Indian Chief Wall Sconce - unidentified so far

Another interesting objet d'art is this century old cast bronze wall sconce lamp depicting the bust of an Indian chief in relief. It has an arm coming out of the plaque base with a cull-chain socket on it. When purchased, the socket was missing. I happened to have another wall sconce from the same period that had a base beyond reasonable repair (and painted blue). I put the socket from that sconce onto this one, though I have not wired it to either a plug or wall box. It hangs above the door among a bunch of plaques, too close to the ceiling to install a bulb anyway.

If anyone out there has seen anything like this lamp, please let me know. None of my research has led to any answers and I have never seen another.

Antique bronze Indian Chief wall sconce lamp

Sapa-E Ke Mane - Piegan by Charles A. Beil (1894 – July 29, 1976)

This bronze, sourced online from an auction house in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, was created by an artist who was not as well known here in the US as he would have been had he conducted his career south of the 49th parallel north, specifically in Banff, Alberta, Canada. His skill and creativity however were first rate, having learned from one of the best in the field of Western sculpture at the time, his mentor and friend Charles Marion Russell.

Charles Beil was born in Germany but left at the age of 11, working itinerant jobs for several years before jumping ship in Argentina to work with gauchos (the local term for cowboys). He made his way north to the US, working a variety of labor intensive jobs before landing in Montana in about 1920. He met and befriended Charlie and Nancy Russell in 1921 while working as a guide in and around Glacier National Park. Russell encouraged his work in drawing and sculpting in clay. After Charlie Russell's death in 1926, Charlie Beil led his mentor and friend's horse in the funeral parade. Nancy Russell asked both Charlie Beil and her late husband's other protégé, Joe De Yong (or DeYong) to finish the sculptures that her husband had not finished as well as to "clean up" his previous models after they had been returned to her by Roman Bronze Works. In 1930 he moved to Banff and for a time his studio was above a bakery on Cave Street. It was not long after moving his studio to Bear Street that Beil began to explore casting in bronze. He married local girl Olive Luxton in 1940, welcoming three children with her.

Beil's primary income for over two decades derived from creating statues for the annual Calgary Stampede, a massive rodeo and exhibition that takes place every July. His sculptures were given as awards, both as trophies and belt buckles, each year a new set of sculptures being created. It wasn't until after he retired that he was encouraged to have copies of his earlier works cast in limited edition runs, as prior to that time they had all been cast as one-off originals. His sculptures are held in museums around the world, one even being in the entrance to Buckingham Palace, as well as in the homes of both the recipients of his trophies and collectors of fine Western art. He was greatly lauded in his own lifetime  (mainly in Canada) and continues to be celebrated for his work.

Here we have a bronze bust of an elder Piegan warrior wearing a traditional Plains style feather headdress and bone choker. The upper part of a traditional beaded breastplate can also be seen under his long hair. He looks off into the distance with his mouth slightly open, as if tasting the air. The sculpting is exquisite, the casting fine, the patina original and aside from the tip of his nose being rubbed a bit shiny, is in very good condition. It looks like it could have been cast last year, even though it is many decades old. It is the first that he cast of this subject, not part of the numbered limited edition series that he cast shortly before his passing in 1976.

I consider myself to be VERY fortunate to now own original bronzes (all of Piegans, a happy coincidence) by Charles Marion Russell as well as BOTH of his protégés, Charles Beil and Joe De Yong. They look GREAT grouped together.

 

Enjoy!

"Sapa-E Ke Mane, Piegan" by Charles A. Beil, bronze, undated, 1/1, front

"Sapa-E Ke Mane, Piegan" by Charles A. Beil, bronze, undated, 1/1, right

"Sapa-E Ke Mane, Piegan" by Charles A. Beil, bronze, undated, 1/1, back

"Sapa-E Ke Mane, Piegan" by Charles A. Beil, bronze, undated, 1/1, left

"Sapa-E Ke Mane, Piegan" by Charles A. Beil, bronze, undated, 1/1, signature

"Sapa-E Ke Mane, Piegan" by Charles A. Beil, bronze, undated, 1/1, title

Mystery Bronze, possibly by G. E. Pinto

 I purchased this bronze many years ago as a mystery. The price was extremely low, what I consider a throwaway price (far less than its value in metal). It had been put up for live auction several times and had remained unsold for over two years. I think the auctioneer was happy that it finally left their warehouse!

The sculpture arrived seriously dirty, and much to my shame I just pushed it aside as more exciting pieces filtered in. The dust continued to layer over the pre-existing crud while I had it sitting beside a table next to the door. I have just cleaned and waxed it for the first time and it's starting to look nice. There are a LOT of undercuts that proved stubborn to get clean, but I persisted until it was spotless and fully waxed. While it is still within the realm of what modern experts call “Brutalist,” many details that were obscured by the layered dirt were revealed and the whole sculpture now looks deliberate versus amateurish, yet to me it lacks the feel of a practiced sculptor. It could well be an art student’s work. As it stands, it's right on the cusp between the representative and brutalist styles.

I have zero idea who the artist was. The bronze is quite large and involved, the only one that I have ever seen like it. My assumption was that anything that someone put so much work into would have been signed somewhere and it was just up to me to find it. Well, I was wrong. I've gone over this bronze with a magnifying glass and have found no indication of anything approaching writing on it. The artist was saying everything in the sculpt, I suppose. The bronze is mounted to a flat wood base. On the underside of the wood is penciled G.E.P. in large cursive letters, with the word or name Pinto and the number 4 under it. Those are my only clues, GEP and Pinto, and that may have been the name of the owner. I have looked for years now for answers and I'm out of ideas.

This sculpture depicts three Indian men who appear to be looking for or at something distant. All are fit and muscular, sinewy even, in the prime of life. By their dress and haircuts they are likely from the Southwest, Maricopa or Pima perhaps. One is standing up, his feet planted in a wide stance, his arms raised, his hands shading his eyes from the sunlight. He is wearing a coyote or wolf head skin on his head and a quiver full of arrows on his back, a brief loincloth and nothing else. He is standing over two other Native American men. One is seated on the ground to his left and is leaning against standing guy's left leg as he too peers into the distance. In his right hand, behind the standing Indian, he is holding a curved shield against the ground. He also is wearing only a tight loincloth and yes, he's definitely a man. The third man is laying down, his left ear to the ground as he tries to hear the vibrations in the ground. The listening man is also wearing only a loincloth, although it is impossible to see due to the shield and his pose. Overall, the bronze depicts three Indian warriors who are looking for their quarry and are ready to fight. Are they looking for the herd or the enemy? Maybe the 3:10 to Yuma? I have no idea.

 

HELP!!!!

Unknown bronze statue possibly by G. E. Pinto, front

Unknown bronze statue possibly by G. E. Pinto, rear

Unknown bronze statue possibly by G. E. Pinto, closeup of standing figure

Unknown bronze statue possibly by G. E. Pinto, closeup of crouching figure

The Sentinel by Kirk St. Maur McReynolds (contemporary, b. 1949)

 These bronzes came to me almost through a fluke. The first one popped up on eBay as an unfinished "raw" bronze awhile back. Since I have the ability to finish a bronze statue, I purchased it. In the listing for the one, however, I saw the seller had a bucketful of identical bronzes. I asked if he planned to sell those as well and told him in no uncertain terms that I would buy all of them to finish myself. Though the seller had plans to melt them down to make his own art (bronze depictions of the penis bones of raccoons, a moonshiners' thing), he agreed to sell them to me in bulk lots. That led to me buying the rest of them, for a total of six identical bronzes, some in better condition than others. All of them need work and are missing their bows and arrows, which I'll have to cast. That's also not a problem for me.

Kirk St. Maur is a retired sculptor from Quincy, Illinois with a handful of monuments to his credit. He studied sociology and anthropology at Carlton College, going on to graduate studies at the University of Colorado. After teaching for ten years at a Jesuit university and a detour into studying architecture, Mr. St. Maur decided to focus on the human figure and left to study art in Italy. Monument commissions and sales of gallery bronzes kept him afloat for many years but was not paying enough to raise a family, so he left sculpting behind to focus on his farm and family.

"The Sentinel" was sculpted to replace a statue in Point Richmond, California that had been knocked over and broken by a truck then scrapped during a metals drive during WWII. The old statue, a cast iron catalogue piece from the J. L. Mott Iron Works, their #53 Indian Chief, has many other copies extant and has had many different names appended to it. Unveiled in 1984, the Point Richmond copy of "The Sentinel" is made of bronze colored fiberglass. St. Maur had an identical monument cast of fiberglass and another of solid bronze as well as a monumental sized bronze copy without the cape (my personal favorite). He also had no more than ten small, maquette sized copies cast, of which I know two were fully finished. I have six unfinished copies of the maquette and that may represent the balance of copies cast.

 

 It is my plan to finish all six of my copies. One or two will need major surgery due to poor casting and mold slippage. I'm ready for that task. I'm excited to take it on. I hope to be finished with the job by the end of next spring.

Enjoy!

"The Sentinel" by Kirk St. Maur McReynolds, unfinished bronze, 1984, front

"The Sentinel" by Kirk St. Maur McReynolds, unfinished bronze, 1984, left

"The Sentinel" by Kirk St. Maur McReynolds, unfinished bronze, 1984, back

"The Sentinel" by Kirk St. Maur McReynolds, unfinished bronze, 1984, right front

"The Sentinel" by Kirk St. Maur McReynolds, unfinished bronze, 1984, bucketful

"The Sentinel" by Kirk St. Maur McReynolds, 1984, clay model

 

 

"The Sentinel" by Kirk St. Maur McReynolds, unfinished bronze, 1984, monument

Blessing by Lawrence S. "Bud" Mayes (b. 1936)

This was yet another bronze that I saw come up for auction while I was hiding at home during the pandemic. I could tell that it was quite nice, even though that particular online auction site doesn't put large images in their listings. I had never heard of the artist before either, but the bronze looked awesome so I decided to bid. Happily, in due course I won it and had it shipped home. When it arrived, it was much larger than I had expected and exquisitely sculpted. I'm thrilled with it!

Not much about the artist is available online except for a self-written statement on an online gallery's website. Bud Mayes stated that he began his career as a sculptor because while he was working at an art supply store, a customer who owned an art gallery asked him if he could sculpt. Largely self-trained, he eventually gravitated to Loveland, Colorado, where he met and worked with famed Western sculptor Fritz White at his bronze foundry, learning the finer points of sculpting originals as well as molding, casting and finishing bronzes. It was after he moved to New Mexico that he began to sculpt Indians, focusing on the spiritual side of his subjects. In more recent years he moved into sculpting "art dolls." It appears that he is now fully retired, as I have not been able to find any recent creations.

Depicted here is an American Indian man of indeterminate age, most likely in his 20's-30's. He is bare chested, wearing a wide loincloth, fringed hide leggings and plain moccasins. In his mouth is a bone whistle which has a feather dangling from the end. He is dancing on a round hide that is staked down to the ground around the edges, his right hand raised over his head holding a fur wrapped bone club as he mock threatens the bear hide that he holds up by the jaw in his left hand. The patina is polychromatic and more subtle than vivid, shading in hues of brown and black. The bronze sits atop a round two piece wood base which has a bearing inset to provide for the easy turning of the bronze. It is signed "© 1985 Mayes," is titled "The Blessing" on the bottom of the bronze and is numbered 1 of 30, though I do not know how many were actually cast. It is in perfect condition, without any damage or repairs.

I'm hoping to get in touch with the artist and get the story on this bronze, but so far I have been unsuccessful. He is no longer living at the last listed address that I have for him and has not responded to emails that I have sent. I shall keep trying.

Enjoy!

"Blessing" by Lawrence S. "Bud" Mayes, bronze, 1985, 1/30, front

"Blessing" by Lawrence S. "Bud" Mayes, bronze, 1985, 1/30, right

"Blessing" by Lawrence S. "Bud" Mayes, bronze, 1985, 1/30, back

"Blessing" by Lawrence S. "Bud" Mayes, bronze, 1985, 1/30, right

"Blessing" by Lawrence S. "Bud" Mayes, bronze, 1985, 1/30, detail

"Blessing" by Lawrence S. "Bud" Mayes, bronze, 1985, 1/30, signature & title

"Blessing" by Lawrence S. "Bud" Mayes, bronze, 1985, 1/30, edition number

The Enemy's Tracks by Charles Marion Russell

 Not all that long ago, I was sitting at home, self-quarantined both due to the pandemic and recovering from major surgery, and not so surprisingly bored to tears. I became somewhat manic with my shopping, searching the online auction sites constantly using broader and broader search terms and bidding on the good stuff. When I saw this pop up for auction, I placed what I think of as an I-want-to-own-it bid. After a flurry of last second bids, I brought it home for what (to me) was a reasonable price. Little did I know...

While I am no scholar of the works of Charles Marion Russell, I consider myself to be a fair judge of restrikes of his bronzes. I own many such, several more than I have yet posted about (I buy 'em when I find 'em going for cheap money). Now, I have a bit of a story to tell. Four decades ago, when I was 13, I apprenticed in a clock repair shop. I've worked with antique brass and bronze for most of my life. I have a pretty good eye for patina and for the way the specific alloys they used "back then" have aged. I am quite familiar with castings from Roman Bronze Works castings dating to the first quarter of the last century as well as how the alloy they used should look today. I also have a very good eye and a memory for detail. I have seen a TON (likely several tons) of restrikes of Russell's works, and while I may not have seen all of his pieces that have been repopped, I feel like I've run across the majority of them. One thing that I've noticed when it comes to Russell's larger, more complex pieces, is that if an original was molded up to make a surmoulage (a second-generation casting created from an existing bronze casting, not from the original sculpture or mold), it would not have been cut to pieces to be cast and welded together in the manner of the originals. This makes the castings rather sloppy. My copy of Scalp Dancer is a prime example of this. Because bronze shrinks by up to 15% as it cools, surmoulages are always smaller in all dimensions than the original castings from which they were made. Simply measuring your bronze then comparing the numbers to those quoted by the museums that own known original castings makes for an easy way to tell if your sculpture is original or a copy. However, most of the larger "Russell" bronzes that I see on the market are not directly copied by molding up an original bronze. Instead, a foreign artist looks at pictures and creates something similar to the original, a pastiche, which is then signed with Russell's name (not infrequently misspelled, too). Those are true fakes - Russell had no hand in their creation, only serving as inspiration for copyists.

The moment that I saw this bronze listed, I knew that it was neither a surmoulage nor a fake. The listing header was very spartan, along the lines of 'Bronze Sculpture of Indian on Horse' with a description that merely stated the artist's name, the foundry mark and dimensions of the piece. This one was the real deal. It had the correct level of detail, was the correct size in all directions, correct patina, correct color of bronze, correct foundry mark and correct signature. There was no damage to be seen anywhere on the piece. PLUS I have never, ever encountered this piece in any setting other than a museum or book. In the catalogue raisonné of Russell's works (by B. Byron Price), it was stated that at the time of publication, only eight of the fourteen to sixteen cast were known to exist, up to thirteen from Roman Bronze Works and three from California Art Bronze that were cast posthumously (as ordered by Nancy Russell). That left six to eight more "out in the wild," though I am unsure as to how many from each foundry are left outstanding.

 

There was a whole lot of correct about this bronze and nothing that set off even faint alarm bells. Every one of my boxes was being ticked, the more that I looked at it. Now, auction listing pictures don't usually do a bronze sculpture justice, and the images from this auction house were no exception. But I had a feeling that they were an honest representation of the piece. So I bid. Then, on auction day, I swallowed the huge knot in my throat and bid more until I'd won it.

When the package finally arrived (it was shipped to me via USPS "click and ship" - I know, oh the horror), I opened it with no little excitement. As soon as I saw the bronze nestled in the packing, I knew that I had been very right to pursue this one. The condition was and is spectacular. There's not a mark or spot of verdigris on it. Happily, the patina and color of the natural bronze (as seen underneath) are absolutely in keeping with my Stouffer and MacNeil bronzes, all of which had also been cast by RBW in roughly the same time period. Without a doubt, this was one of the "lost" castings that I had read about!

I contacted the auctioneer, both to let them know that it had arrived safely and to inquire about the provenance of the piece. The auctioneer told me that he had anticipated my call. He had suspected that the bronze "might be something special," but he stated that it was "beyond (their) small auction house's ability to properly authenticate and appraise it." The seller wanted to sell however. As a result, they opted for the simple description and left it to prospective buyers to roll the proverbial dice and do their own due diligence. The auctioneer had asked the sellers about the history of the piece. He was told by the seller that it had been bought at a consignment shop in South Carolina back around 1984 and that they knew nothing more about it.

I am undaunted by the missing four or so decades of provenance. This is not unusual with art on the secondary market, especially pieces where the owner has no real idea of the value and is unwilling to do the research. Once my current health issues have passed, I plan to pursue the provenance in greater depth with the various museums and organizations that have Nancy Russell's sales paperwork in hand. Through a process of elimination, it shouldn't be too difficult to track the original purchasers whose bronzes are assumed to be "lost," and hopefully trace one to the time frame where it could have wound up in a Southern consignment shop.

What we have here is a roughly twelve inch tall bronze sculpture of an athletic Piegan or Blood Indian man seated on a horse. He is dressed only in low moccasin boots, a belt wrapped around his waist which holds his quiver of arrows against his rear and the end of a blanket thrown over his left hip which hangs over the side of his horse. The front of his hair sticks straight out in the traditional warrior's forelock, a roach or topknot (no feather) on the back of his head. Cradled in his left arm is a staff which has a scalp tied to the top. It crosses over neck of the horse to point downward on the right. He is leaning over the right side of the horse and looking at tracks on the ground. His expression is both serious and intent. The horse looks quite sinewy, its tail tied up in a manner consistent with Piegan and Blood tradition for a warrior on the warpath. Four horseshoes are branded into its right rump. On the back of the base is the signature "C M Russell" with the artist's buffalo skull sigil. Also on the base, low along the bottom rim under the horse's right rear hoof is the foundry chop mark "Roman Bronze Works N-Y-." All of these details are consistent with the other castings of this work. Along the bottom rim of this bronze there are spots of flattened solder and differences in the patina suggesting that there was originally a piece of sheet metal soldered on, closing off the bottom. This, too, is consistent with the other extant copies, all of which (that I've found) have a fitted piece of tin soldered up underneath. The depth of detail implies to me that it came from somewhere in the middle of the original run. It is a beautiful sculpture!

 

In my research so far, I have found a record which states one copy was returned to Roman Bronze Works by one of the large New York art galleries that handled Russell's works, to have the sheet metal base removed and the bronze prepared to have a marble base mounted. I have not found another copy of this bronze that does not have the tin plate underneath, so I may have the one that got sent back. I'm trying to track the ownership history of that specific bronze, so far with zero luck. Another casting was rejected by the buyer due to poor pour quality (mold slips). Mine has none of the slips that the disappointed buyer wrote about, so I strongly doubt mine is that one. I believe I've seen four or five other copies come up for auction in the last few years. that would leave only two or three unaccounted for, if one includes mine in the list of known castings.

I have approached an auction house about reselling it, though I am awaiting the results of a specialist research and authentication expert to hopefully track the provenance and authenticate it beyond reproach. It has been informally authenticated by several other experts as of this writing (through photos) and has a crazy auction estimate. This is a lot of money to leave on the table, and I'm more than a bit worried that I'll accidentally knock it over and break or bend something. This is one of the rare times that I'll most likely be reselling one of my bronzes before I hit retirement age. It's high enough an estimate that I'm reconsidering holding on to a couple other bronzes in my collection, too. It's a nice dilemma to have.

I am thrilled to have this rare and very valuable bronze by one of the great masters of Western art in my collection. I'm still more than a bit flabbergasted that I actually own it, if only for a short period of time. At least I'll be in the chain of provenance. That's a nice feeling right there, too.

 

Enjoy!

"The Enemy's Tracks" by Charles Marion Russell, bronze, cast by Roman Bronze Works ca. 1920's, front

"The Enemy's Tracks" by Charles Marion Russell, bronze, cast by Roman Bronze Works ca. 1920's, rear

"The Enemy's Tracks" by Charles Marion Russell, bronze, cast by Roman Bronze Works ca. 1920's, signature

"The Enemy's Tracks" by Charles Marion Russell, bronze, cast by Roman Bronze Works ca. 1920's, foundry chop

Herman by Pat Smith (January 23, 1923 - August 8, 2002)

This bronze, while not strictly in line with the others in my collection, is close yet unique enough that I felt it to be a good fit, regardless. That it popped up for sale at precisely the same time and for the same starting bid amount as a coupon that I had received from eBay (I miss the old eBay Bucks program!) was just enough serendipity for me to place a bid. As nobody bid it up, I managed to get this very well sculpted and interesting bronze for a whopping $0.18 plus shipping. I couldn't be happier!

Patricia Waterman (Ballantine) Smith was born in New York City, the daughter of a publisher father and an artist and writer mother. While growing up, she lived in NYC, Maine, California and New Mexico, her youth spent shuttling between her divorced parents. As a member of the Art Students League in New York City, she studied sculpture. During WWII, she worked in the Army Medical Museum in Washington, DC. There she married her first husband and bore three children. Following a divorce, she moved with her kids to New Mexico, where in 1955 in Taos she met and married Peter Smith (d. 2018). A daughter soon followed, and the family settled in Corrales, NM, in an adobe house that they had built. She was active as a sculptor as well as civically, becoming a founding member of the Corrales Art Association, the Camel Gallery, the Visual Arts Council of the Corrales Historical Society and the Bosque Gallery. She was also known for her volunteer work in the community.

Her sculptures come up for sale infrequently, more a testament to her skill and talent than any lack of her works. By all accounts, she was fairly prolific. People hang on to her sculptures!

This bronze is titled "Herman" and is dated October '79, numbered 1 of 15 and is signed "Pat Smith." It measures 40" tall, the finished wood base adding another 5.5" to the height. Depicted here is a standing Native American man who looks to be an adult in his late teens to his 20's, or thereabout. He is handsome, well built and muscular, his long hair parted in the middle and hanging loose around his shoulders and down his back. His arms are crossed, his right hand tucked under his left bicep and left hand on his right bicep. What makes this sculpture so unusual is that he is wearing the casual dress of the late 1970's, a tight tee shirt tucked into equally tight and low slung bell-bottom (flared leg) denim jeans and plain shoes, the toes of which peek out from under the cuffs of his jeans. His pose is one of mild impatience and the expression on his face mirrors this. The sculpt is excellent, rich in detail yet subtle where necessary and very nicely proportioned, clearly created with care by an expert sculptor.

I wish I knew more about this piece, including the story behind it. I can only imagine that the model posed for this in person, given his dress and pose. Was Herman a friend of the sculptor's, someone important in either her life or family, or was he just someone Pat Smith knew? Or was he just a good looking local that she met at the grocery store? Perhaps he worked as an artists' model on other occasions? I would think that had he been a professional model, she would have sculpted him in more traditional attire and pose, which would likely have necessitated Herman changing his clothes, and they may not have had a relationship where asking him for that would have been okay. Looking at this bronze, I get the impression that there was a personal connection, that this sculpture served as a portrait of a friend. With the passing of both Pat and Pete Smith and as I had purchased this at auction from a reseller, I may never know the real story behind this one. But if anyone out there knows, please let me know!

In a strange twist, I was searching the auction sites not too long ago when a curious thing showed up. It was a framed print (marked "Artist's Proof") of a black and white drawing/painting of Herman! I was shocked, to say the least, and bid on it to win it. The print now hangs on the wall behind the bronze. The original portrait was created by the prolific New Mexico artist Jacque (Jacqueline) Evans (d. June 8, 2009 at age 79). Herman is standing in the same pose, has the same expression, and though the picture ends just below his hips, clearly is wearing the same pants. There are minor differences, of course, but the two pieces were obviously created at the same time, during the same sitting of the same model. I now lean toward both the bronze and the painting having been created at a gathering of artists, such as a class or retreat or similar. It's not all that unusual an event, actually. Foundries in the Southwest used to offer similar opportunities in the artistic heyday from the 1970's through the early 2000's, where they would hire a model for a themed sitting and offer spots on a limited basis to sculptors. Given Pat Smith's active involvement in the local art scene, I can easily imagine such an opportunity being taken up by both artists. 

 

I may never find out how both of these lovely artworks were created. Both Pat Smith and Jacque Evans have passed on, as have those who were closest to them in 1979. If anyone out there has any information at all, please share it!

I also own three other bronzes by different artists (I've seen two others as well but lost out on those auctions) that I would happily claim were created in much the same manner. They're all clearly of the same model (though not Herman), in the same clothing, and all in nearly the exact same theme. I think it's rather fun. As I post them to this blog, I'll cross reference them in the posts. Then you can make up your own mind.

I have cleaned and waxed the bronze, as I do (eventually) with all in my care. It came to me in excellent condition however, clean with little dust in the crevices and zero damage to even the applied ferric patina or the cherry finish on the wood base. It's in beautiful condition, top to bottom. Clearly it was cared for very well and treated as the treasure it is.

 

Enjoy!!

"Herman" by Pat Smith, bronze, 1979, 1/15, front

"Herman" by Pat Smith, bronze, 1979, 1/15, right

"Herman" by Pat Smith, bronze, 1979, 1/15, rear

"Herman" by Pat Smith, bronze, 1979, 1/15, right

"Herman" by Pat Smith, bronze, 1979, 1/15, signature

"Herman" bronze by Pat Smith and print by Jacqueline "Jacque" Evans

Defender of the Dakota by Harold Shelton (1918-1999)

 Over the last few years, I have seen that the large online aggregators of independent live auction houses (LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, Barnaby's, etc) have had their buyer's premiums increase at an alarming rate, trending towards 40%. It is indeed rare to see an auction these days with a rate under 20%. While this may be caused by the auction houses themselves raising their rates, many of these independent auction houses have taken the plunge into self-determination by hosting their own live-streamed online bidding platforms. The premiums are typically lower, often significantly. When you're bidding on an expensive (and expensive to ship) bronze sculpture, shaving even a few percentage points off the top of the final price can make the difference between a realistic all-in purchase price and bank-breaking lunacy. I am always looking for ways to minimize my fixed expenses. This has the added benefit of my being able to place higher maximum bids and remain within the tight constraints of my budget. Shipping is typically a fixed cost (within a certain range, I've gotten half decent at estimating the cost), for me the buyer's premiums are the hidden snake in the grass waiting for my unwary toe to tread incautiously. My goal is to buy at a good to excellent price, not set the new high auction result standard!

I first spotted this specific bronze on a couple of the auction aggregators' sites. It had, however, been listed by a major auction house in Texas which has its own bidding platform. The difference in premiums between using an aggregator's site or the auction house's in-house platform can be as high as 5%. Those nickels add up very fast as the bids go up! As I am signed up directly with the auction house in question (not to mention being chronically po), though I first found this bronze on an aggregator's site, I bid on it directly with the auction house. While I was thrilled to get it for a very reasonable rate (even including the premium), this time the shipping tripped me up and almost brought me to ruin. It is a MUCH larger and heavier bronze than I had imagined and came with a massive solid green marble plinth, requiring it to be crated and freight shipped to me in two separate and heavy packages. I'm quite glad that I sucked it up and forked over the shekels though, it is a stunning sculpture.

 

I've been very familiar with this piece for years. Cast in the early to mid 1990's by a notorious gallery owner from Hollywood, California,  Defender of the Dakota was one of a series of quite expensive bronzes from the "Epic of the Plains Indian" series by late California artist Harold Shelton. Cast in a run of only 76, it has shown up in auctions and the occasional dealer resale listings with reasonable frequency over the last couple decades or so. I've always been impressed and have even placed bids a time or three, when I'd gotten to the auctions early enough to be the first to bid. The sales prices always went into what is, for me, the stratosphere. When I saw this one, with one of the lowest starting bids that I've ever seen on this bronze. I crossed my fingers as I placed my bid and hoped that this time I'd get lucky. Then I did!

I had not realized that the green marble column on which the bronze (with its own marble base attached) was pictured actually came with the bronze. I had assumed that the artwork had been placed on it to be photographed, but it appears that the pedestal was available in different heights from the gallery as an option and came with the sculpture. I was shocked but pleased at that when I called the auction house after successfully winning the lot to set up shipping and was told how much it was going to cost to get the whole shebang out to me. But when the quote turned out to be roughly 25% of the total sale price (hammer price + premium + tax), I looked at my dwindling account, did some quick math to make sure I could cover other bids I'd placed then sighed and okayed the shipping. I am so very glad that I did! Again though, my back-of-the-envelope-math showed that I was still going to have a comfortable margin between my all-in costs and the current retail rate for the bronze alone (and that's at pandemic pricing, not the typical going price). The value of the marble column alone put the total value of the lot well beyond what I paid and would, if sold closer to a retail price, cover the entirety of my outlay by itself, both in terms of money and time. I was quite happy.

 

Fast forward a month and a half after the auction and a box truck was backing up my driveway, the driver unloading two cartons of alarming size on my doorstep and sailing off into the sunset. I barely managed to get this into the front door. It took me the better part of two hours (with help no less) to wrangle them into the house and remove the copious amounts of packing materials that were protecting the many, many fragile elements that could easily snapped off and ruined my day. It came out fine however, nothing damaged in the least. I can't imagine trying to load it into a truck by myself, especially considering I'd have had to drive halfway across the country and back just to do so. After I had it set up, I spent another hour or so just marveling at the intricacy and delicacy of this very large piece. I then had my next scary thought - 'It's going to take forever to wax this one!' 

California artist Harold Shelton studied art at the University of Northern Colorado, the Minneapolis Art Institute, the Walker Art Center as well as the Art Center School in Los Angeles. He owned a gallery where he sold his art in Carmel-By-The-Sea and was primarily known for his paintings before meeting businessman David Spellerberg, who convinced him to allow him to represent him to promote his work. One of Shelton's clients was actor Gene Autry, who also had a stellar collection of original Western bronzes (including works by Remington, Russell and Solon Borglum). Autry took a liking to Spellerberg and allowed him to make copies of his bronzes, soon partnering with Spellerberg, actor Burt Reynolds, John Wayne's son Michael Wayne and five others to open a gallery on famed Rodeo Drive to sell the copies as well as original creations by artists such as Shelton (who sculpted using hard dental wax). While the gallery closed after eight years, Spellerberg continues to run the gallery from a house in Westlake Village, CA, and a foundry nearby, both creating bespoke sculptures and original bronzes for various artists.

I have to say, the casting is complex yet very fine, the patinas (both hot chemical and cold painted) deftly and accurately applied, the surfaces of the bronze devoid of even the slightest of flaws that one can find on the even the best of the best from art bronze foundries. There are dozens of smaller attached elements and these too were carefully made, attached and colored. The sculpt itself is exquisite, the proportions as fine as the casting, the musculature showing the tension of the drawing of the bow, the expression on the face both intent and intense. Clearly a lot of research went into this piece. It is a truly lovely work of art.

 

Depicted here is a standing Plains Indian man in the prime of life, my guess aged in his twenties or thirties, muscular of frame and fit without being sinewy or overbuilt, his face unlined. His feet are planted wide as he draws a recurved Plains bow and aims a stone headed arrow at some distant target, another arrow with a knapped flint head clenched between his teeth and two more arrows gripped with the bow. From the feet up he is wearing low moccasins beaded in traditional Lakota style, hide leggings or chaps that are fringed on the side seams and around the cuffs, with wide pony beaded bands down the legs, along the fringe and around the ankles. They are held up around his slim waist by the same wide flat belt that holds up his cloth or soft hide breechclout, which is itself decorated with a simple painted, embossed or embroidered pattern band just above the bottom on the front. Also tucked into the belt, on his right hip, is a long knife about the size of a smaller machete in a beaded and studded sheath that has a beaded band on the hilt near the pommel. He is shirtless, nude from the waist up save for a pair of wide, flat straps, one of which holds a beaded quiver with three arrows and a beaded bow case against his left hip. The second strap runs across his left shoulder and holds a flat, round, hide over hoop shield which has four feathers hanging spaced around the lower margin, six bear claws hanging from the upper rim, blue beads in a star around the margin and a further decoration attached to the middle comprising feathers and a further ermine skin mounted to another beaded star. On both biceps he wears hairpipe beaded bands. His long black hair is braided at each side of his head and wrapped with white fur that is likely ermine (stoat) or rabbit, as is traditional for Plains Indian men, one hanging across his chest and the other behind his back. On his head he is wearing a split buffalo horn headdress from which depend paired eagle feathers at the temples, their shafts wrapped with hide thongs, and clusters of thin flat thongs, all of which curl and blow in the breeze. He is standing on a mossy rock or bluff.

There is a LOT going on here! Given the weight of this bronze and its marble plinth, it rests not far from my front door. Everyone who walks into the house sees it.

Enjoy.

"Defender of the Dakota" by Harold Shelton, bronze, front

"Defender of the Dakota" by Harold Shelton, bronze, back

"Defender of the Dakota' by Harold Shelton, bronze, front with pedestal

"Defender of the Dakota" by Harold Shelton, bronze, signature

The Guardian by Michael D'Ambrosi (contemporary)

I was quite impressed with this bronze when I saw it listed in an auction online. The buy-it-now price was a bit high, so I watched it for about six months until I felt I had saved enough to make an offer that wasn't an insult. The buyer accepted my offer and in due course it arrived at my home. I was shocked by its size, it is quite large and heavy, and was impressed by the detailed polychromatic patina. I don't move it around that much.

Michael D'Ambrosi is a versatile sculptor. His subjects range across the board, from abstract to Western to animals to religious themes, and on and on. This is not so surprising though as he is the son of a sculptor, the much lauded late Jasper D'Ambrosi. Michael created this sculpture while he was in his "Apache phase," when virtually all of his output was of Apaches (and he made many). I have yet to contact him about this piece, but I am looking forward to it.

This bronze depicts a fit Apache man in traditional everyday dress circa 1870, a headband, wide white cloth loincloth held up by a thick gun belt complete with rifle shells around his waist, a pair of high buff hide boots and an all-over tan. His long black hair hangs loose across his chest and down his back. He is wearing what appears to be a shell, a polished stone or peace medal around his neck on a beaded necklace as well as another beaded necklace, likely turquoise or coral that hangs down past his navel. In his right hand he's casually carrying a rifle. He is standing on a pile of rocks or maybe a bluff, his pose relaxed but vigilant as he looks down at something below.

 

The bronze is mounted to a squared block of wood with a satin finish, nothing fancy. I may change it out for stone. Bases are typically added by the gallery and to the taste and budget of the buyer and are not specific to the artwork. Unless they were put there by the artists as part of the overall work (which usually shows), they're pretty much interchangeable and changeable, like frames on paintings.

Overall this statue is in immaculate condition and required not even cleaning when it arrived. The patinas are undamaged and nothing is dented, bent or broken. Even the wood base and brass tag are nearly pristine. It is signed by the artist, has the cactus sigil of the foundry and is numbered 4 of 24 on the bronze. It's a stunning bronze, no doubt about it. I'm glad I was able to bring it home.

 

I'll be taking new pictures soon, but until then, these will do.

Enjoy.

"The Guardian" by Michael D'Ambrosi, polychromatic bronze, 4/24, front

"The Guardian" by Michael D'Ambrosi, polychromatic bronze, 4/24, face

"The Guardian" by Michael D'Ambrosi, polychromatic bronze, 4/24, left

"The Guardian" by Michael D'Ambrosi, polychromatic bronze, 4/24, signature

Indian Fisherman by Earl Cary "Jack" Haines (May 11, 1927 - September 6, 1991)

 I know very little about this exquisitely sculpted bronze. I purchased it in an online auction from a charity thrift store which had received it as an anonymous donation. They were just as curious as I was about it and tried many of the same research avenues that I use, with sadly similar results. It took me awhile but I finally wrested from the web a scant bit of information about the artist and this I shared with the folks at the charity. They were as happy as I was to learn even as much as I did about it.

Earl Cary "Jack" Haines of Wichita, Kansas was a machinist, a tool and die maker specifically, for the Coleman Company (famed makers of camping equipment among many other things). It was said that only he could fix the machines used in the factory and so quickly that they hardly lost any time on the production lines. His hobby was woodcarving and he was a master. I stumbled across the website of a woodcarver who collects older carvings and he had one of Jack's pieces listed. The signatures matched and it was obvious to me that it was the same Jack Haines who sculpted my bronze. His obituary mentioned that a few of his carvings were cast in bronze, too. He had attended art shows and expositions where he displayed and sold his carvings, mostly throughout the southern Midwest of the US, from the 1970's until his passing in 1991.

This is a large bronze, easily commanding a significant amount of space on the average coffee table. The patina is polychromatic and in perfect condition, free of any visible damage or rubs. Depicted here is a muscular Indian man, likely in his late teens to early 40's, nude save for a brief and seemingly wet loincloth. His long black hair is parted in the middle and pulled back into two braids that hang over his shoulder and chest. He is standing on two rocks in a stream and is twisting down and to his left as he aims a bow held in his left hand with arrow at the ready at a leaping fish tail in the pooled water below. Rocks line the edge of the pool and dot the water in which he stands. The pose is very naturalistic, the colorful patinas masterfully applied. The bronze is signed by the artist but is not dated, nor is a foundry mark present. It is mounted on a finished wood base that was custom made to fit the unique footprint of the bronze. A brass plaque affixed to the base provides the title, artist's name and that is 1 of 15 that was to be made in the edition, though how many were actually cast remains a mystery. 

 

It is quite breathtaking and immediately captures the attention.

I'll update the pictures as soon as I take new ones.

 

Enjoy.

"Indian Fisherman" by Earl Cary "Jack" Haines, bronze, 1/15, front

"Indian Fisherman" by Earl Cary "Jack" Haines, bronze, 1/15, 1/4 turn left

"Indian Fisherman" by Earl Cary "Jack" Haines, bronze, 1/24, figure right

"Indian Fisherman" by Earl Cary "Jack" Haines, bronze, 1/24, left side

"Indian Fisherman" by Earl Cary "Jack" Haines, bronze, 1/24, signature