| 56. Henry F. Farny (American, 1847-1916), "Indian Woman with Papoose", c.1902; gouache/board, 9.25" x 5", signed and dated, original
frame, never been out of frame or paper, Cincinnati label verso from Suder's Art Store, 1309 Vine Street. Highly important western painter. Farny
was born in France, but his family fled to the U.S. in 1853, when the Napoleonic party gained power. They first settled in western
Pennsylvania, where Farny became acquainted with the Seneca Indians. In 1859, his family moved to Cincinnati, OH, and soon afterward, Farny
began working as a lithographer for Harper's Magazine. In Cincinnati, Farny met Frank Duveneck, who was greatly influential on his work,
and became a good friend. For nearly twenty years, Farny worked as an illustrator, traveling to New York and Europe, but he remained based
in Cincinnati. In 1878, he began making expeditions to the West, studying Indian life, and executing small paintings of that subject matter.
By 1890, Farny had abandoned all illustrative work, and devoted all of his time to painting Indian subjects. Farny's even, matter-of-fact
personality made him very well liked among the Indian tribes, and at one point, he was even adopted by a Sioux tribe, and given the name, "Long Boots".
This perspective was evident in his work, which was not fanciful or exaggerated, but deliberate and subdued. 60,000-80,000 |
