Copper Plate Etching “Horse Colt and Prairie Dogs” [SOLD]

It has been said that Woody Crumbo’s art was not aimed at figurative realism but, with the animals, such as this horse and colt, he brought out what he saw as their spirit, often in vivid colors, however, colors were not used in his copper plate etchings.

Crumbo was born of a Potawatomi mother and orphaned at age 7.  He then lived with a Creek family, then a Kiowa family and, finally a Sioux family.  This exposed him to cultures of many tribes and that contributed to his art career and life.  With this experience, he found a way to honor, promote and preserve history of many tribes.

Crumbo studied at Wichita University and at the University of Oklahoma.  To afford school, he supported himself as a dancer, learning dances of different tribes.  His paintings of dancers are among the most detailed of his work, because of his knowledge of the dances from experience.  Crumbo also was a flute player and maker, even performing with the Wichita Symphony, but he was foremost a painter.

At age 26, Crumbo became director of art at Bacone College, the oldest college in Oklahoma, founded as the Indian University in 1880.  While at Bacone, he created a stained glass window for the chapel, most likely still the only one by a Native American at a Baptist church.

Crumbo met oilman Thomas Gilcrease in Tulsa in 1945. Gilcrease eventually persuaded Crumbo to become artist-in-residence at the emerging Thomas Gilcrease Museum. He was largely responsible for assisting Gilcrease in selecting Native American art for the new museum. The Gilcrease Museum has the honor of possessing the largest extant body of Crumbo's art.  Fortunately, there is still some of his work available for today’s collectors.

This copper plate etching shows a horse and colt with the colt intrigued by a prairie dog.  It is titled and signed in the aritst’s hand in pencil.  It is matted and framed and ready to hang.

Condition: appears to be in original condition

Provenance: from the estate of John and Dixie Yeaple, owners of a gallery in the La Fonda Hotel in Taos from 1945-1949, and then director and curator of The Millicent Rogers Museum from 1950 to 1977.

Recommended Reading: Woody Crumbo by Robert S. Cross