Original Oil Painting of By-o-toi-ti Summer Bird by Will Shuster

By-o-toi-ti was a young lad from San Ildefonso Pueblo that Will Shuster chose as a subject for this painting in 1928. It is an extraordinary portrait of the young boy. I think the boy was less than enthusiastic about dressing up and posing for the painting. His almost pouting expression is part of the charm.

A realist and early modernist painter, graphic artist, illustrator, and sculptor, Will Shuster became known primarily for his work in New Mexico where, in 1920, he settled in Santa Fe, having been encouraged to come there by John Sloan. He had studied electrical engineering at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia and later was a student of Sloan's in Santa Fe in both etching and painting.

He was in World War I, where he suffered a gas attack. On his return, he was advised by his doctor to go west for his health.

In Santa Fe in 1921, he became one of the founding members of Los Cinco Pintores, artists who responded to the New Mexico environment including the Penitentes in a respectful way and modernist, abstract style. Shuster never really adopted the modernist style of his contemporaries, but, rather, followed the realist style of his mentor, John Sloan.

This Original Oil Painting of By-o-toi-ti Summer Bird by Will Shuster is signed Will Shuster in lower right and dated 28. It appears to be in the original frame and is in overall excellent condition.

Provenance:

- ex. Nedra Matteucci Galleries

- ex. Zaplin-Lampert Gallery

Image of Will Shuster - the man and the myth: Artist Will Shuster with the 1942 version of his creation - Will Shuster - Southwest Artist  - Image from Public Domain

TAGS: San Ildefonso Pueblo, Will Shuster, Western Art, Los Cinco Pintores