Delano biographer Richard Bowman wrote, “More of a poet than a realist, he used bits and pieces of the real world, but transformed and manipulated them into his own personal form of expression, inviting the viewer to explore, to dream, and to participate. His work is popular not because it leans toward the nineteenth-century traditions of Western art. Its strength lies in his very personal vision of Western history.

“In studying Delano’s Western historical works, including his depiction of historic Plains Indians, we find the artist becoming more illusionary, romanticizing, and, at times, leaning toward the mythical. Although his Plains Indians were often shown mounted and with war regalia and paint, he created tranquil rather than threatening images.”