Very Large Oil Pastel from the Camus Series [SOLD]

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith was born in 1940 on the Confederated Salish Flathead Reservation in St. Ignatius, Montana. She was raised on the Flathead Reservation and spent her early life with her father, who was a horse trader.  She draws her inspiration from a wide variety of sources, creating decidedly modern works that celebrate her Native heritage.

This massive, beautiful oil pastel is part of Smith’s Camus Series.  At the time of the series’ completion in 1980, she described these pieces as “aerial maps” of the Flathead Reservation in Northwest Montana.  

This painting, like many of her oil pastels, features large, bold, rectangular blocks of color overlapping and blending in with one another.  Above these blocks are an animal and a human. In the lower right corner, a congregation of animals—including what appear to be horses, fish and a bear—is facing what appears to be a bird standing with wings outstretched.  The bird is the lone source of a bright and beautiful blue-green that may have been overwhelming had it been used more frequently.  

This piece stands out from the many large oil pastel pieces that comprise the Camus Series.  Most noticeable is that it is wider than it is long.  The majority of the pieces are similarly sized but aligned vertically.  Many of the Camus Series pieces use a variety of colors very sparingly, while this piece uses just a few colors—and various blends of those few colors—heavily and to striking effect.  It is framed beautifully and signed in the bottom center.

Condition: It is in excellent condition

Provenance: From the large collection of a Santa Fe resident who purchased it from LewAllen Contemporary in the 1980s

Recommended Reading: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: An American Modernist by Carolyn Kastner