Original Painting of Warriors in Action [SOLD]

This painting of warriors in action is one of the strongest and most stimulating pieces in the large collection from which it came. Arapaho painter Carl Sweezy's four Indian warriors on horseback grapple with each other in pairs, drawing their weapons and heading directly toward their opponents. Three of these warriors wield massive spears, while the fourth draws an arrow back in his bow. Their warbonnets trail behind them dramatically, almost horizontally, suggesting to the viewer that the horses are travelling at full speed. Meanwhile, a third pair of warriors clash on the ground. They've been bucked from their horses, which have also found themselves on the ground.

Sweezy handled this action-packed image with remarkable grace. The style in which his subjects are composed is immensely alluring.  His background as a ledger artist is apparent in the manner in which these figures are composed. His subjects are less detailed than those of the Pueblo painters of his time, who used thin, careful outlines to define their subjects.  Sweezy’s outlines are loose and spirited, serving as guides for his thick blocks of tempera paints. Though they remain visible in certain areas, the thin black outlines are mostly obscured by color. The limited color palette used in this piece—red, yellow, and green, brown and black—is quite effective, as Sweezy’s colors are bright and vivid.  The arrangement of the figures is clever, too: the four warriors on horseback create a loosely symmetrical image, which is broken up by the battle occuring separately on the ground beneath them.

The painting is signed “Carl Sweezy” in its lower right corner.  Beneath the signature, Sweezy wrote “NAB,” which may be the painting’s title.

Carl Sweezy (1879-1953) Wattan was a talented and influential Arapaho painter and ledger artist. Sweezy was born in 1879 on old Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation in Oklahoma. His father was Hinan Ba Seth (Big Man) and his mother, unfortunately, died when he was very young.  Sweezy attended Mennonite Mission Schools in Oklahoma and Kansas. He also attended Chilocco and Carlisle Indian Schools. Sweezy’s Indian name was Wattan, or “Black.” He was also known as “Waatina.”  Sweezy’s style was informed by Plains ledger art, which was flourishing during his early life. He occasionally created ledger art and painted portraits, but he is best known today for his excellent watercolor paintings. Sweezy’s long list of notable exhibitions includes the American Indian Exposition, Philbrook Arts Center, and the Intertribal Indian Ceremonials in Gallup. His works are included in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, Chicago Natural History Museum, Gilcrease Institute, Museum of the American Indian, and University of Oklahoma. Sweezy passed away on May 28, 1953 in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Condition: this Original Painting of Warriors in Action is in very good for a piece of its age, with a few minor discolorations in the paper

Provenance: from the large collection of a Texas resident, originally obtained from Sweezy by European artist and educator Oscar Jacobson.

Recommended Reading: American Indian Painters: A Biographical Directory by Jeanne Snodgrass