Forgotten Heroes: Buffalo Soldier painting readies for auction in Dallas

Posted By Noah
June 30, 2009

An 1898 Fletcher C. Ransom canvas depicting the 9th Calvary charge up San Juan Hill is a featured side-highlight of what is promising to be a superb Western & Texas Art auction here at Heritage world HQ on July 16 - actually it's down the road in the Design District, but still...

This is an exciting painting for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it depicts a little known facet of African-American history: the role of the Buffalo Soldier in one of America's most famous battles - San Juan Hill, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Ransom’s 1898 gouache on paper, Forgotten Heroes; Captain Taylor, Troop C, 9th Calvary, Leading a Charge up the San Juan Hill in the Battle of Cuba, is expected to generate substantial interest from collectors of both African-Americana and militaria.

“Most people are aware of Teddy Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill at the head of his volunteer regiment of Rough Riders,” said Michael Duty, Director, Art of the America West at Heritage. “Less well known is that he did so alongside members of the 9th cavalry, an all African-American troop.”

The story of the Buffalo Soldier is indeed a fascinating overall wrinkle in the fabric of American history, and one that did not get its due in late-19th and early 20th century art and pop culture, which makes Ransom’s intriguing painting all the more important.

Following the Civil War, two cavalry units – the 9th and 10th – and two infantry units – the 24th and 25th – were formed. These African-American troops were posted along, and beyond, the frontier line. They were often involved in some of the most difficult and trying skirmishes of the day, and their diligence in battle was noted by all who they faced and served alongside. All of the units served with distinction throughout the Indian Wars and had the lowest desertion rate of any field troops of that period.

Want a little more of the upcoming Western Art Auction, or a closer look at this painting? Just follow the magic link...

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-Noah Fleisher

One amazing ‘Spill’: an indisputable masterpiece by William Herbert “Buck” Dunton comes this July

April 24, 2009
Posted by Noah

Just look at that painting. Unbelievable movement, seamless blending of colors and a moment of impossible kinetic energy expertly captured. If the cowboy in “The Spill” – arguably the greatest work of art by one W.H. Dunton, as good and important an American illustrator as there’s ever been – survives this spectacular calamity, then it’s surely not going to be a pleasant recovery and certainly not ever a complete one. This painting, acquired as part of The Charles Martignette Estate – written about in this blog a few weeks ago – is going to highlight, in a big way, the July auction of Western and Texas art here at Heritage. I personally can’t wait just to go and stand in front of the thing.

What I love about this painting is myriad. I mentioned a few things above, but there’s so much more to read into it. Why exactly are the cowboy and his horse flipping end over end? Is he a greenhorn rider trying to ride a spirited horse? A Horse Whisperer whose luck has run out? Maybe he got drunk at the saloon in town and was careless going home, or maybe he’s running for his life from Indians or brigands. Whatever the case, when that horse comes over on him, unless he manages to extricate his legs in quick fashion, his back is going to be snapped like a twig. What will his poor Ma and Pa think when their little boy, from a good home on the East Coast who had all the best schooling and abandoned it all to pursue his dream of being a real cowboy, dies alone in the American desert with only rattlesnakes and scorpions as witnesses?

Dunton was more than an illustrator. At the risk of offending any art snobs out there, I’d go as far as to say that he was one of America’s great 20th Century painters. The fact that he made his name initially as an illustrator – and a very good one at that – during America’s Golden Age of Illustration in the early 20th Century did not stop his progress as an artist or his desire to paint authentic subject matter. This is more than evidenced by his bold move in 1914 to Taos, New Mexico. Think about it: He had a successful career drawing for the top magazines of the day, plenty of money to support his family, but he chucked it all to move out West and start painting native landscapes. As a result he lived in near-poverty for the remainder of his days and became a truly transcendent painter. He was a founding member of the famed Taos Society of Art, saw his paintings exhibited all over the nation and garnered wide acclaim – if not fortune – for his important work. Still, though, in his own words, he would have rather lived in a time where no means of “making a living” was necessary at all:

"There is one thing positive, had I lived in Merriweather Lewis's, Audubon's or even as late as Catlin or Francis Parkman's day, no life of mine would be thrown away painting pictures, when I could live the greater part of a year alone with my rifle and a few pack animals among the host of buffalo – the antelope, the great bands of elk…"

Fortunately for us, Dunton did paint, and he did leave behind a sizable body of work, foremost among which is “The Spill.” It’s classic American art at its best, relaying a scene of the great, rustic American West that was a direct slice of life, though certainly – ultimately – much larger.

This painting, rightly so, should command a couple hundred thousand dollars. Lord knows that it will bring much more than that 100 years from now. Personally, I wish I could afford it, and am glad I’m not the subject matter. Wiping out on a horse is bad enough – I was thrown by a horse and then bitten by it when I was a kid learning to ride, no kidding – let alone getting snapped like a pencil by its amazingly articulated and artfully presented full body weight.

Here’s a link to the entire Western and Texas art auction. Check out the Olin Travis in particular for a tasty modern perspective on Texas landscape painting. Once you start staring at this thing it’s hard to stop.

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