VERSO
Label, International Exhibitions Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Label, Kennedy Galleries, New York, New York
Label, McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, Texas

According to art historian Elizabeth Garrity Ellis, “Following his first visit to Laguna, New Mexico, in 1906, Leigh made the Southwest the major subject of his art. For the next 25 years he made nearly annual sketching tours to Arizona and New Mexico, collecting photographs and detailed charcoal drawings of Indians, cowboys, landscape and cloud formations which became the basis for paintings such as Indian Herder. His technique had been established during his student years in Munich and was unchanged throughout his long career – he worked up his drawings in his New York studio, laying in the sky, carefully modelling the figure and building up a textured surface of paint.

“Leigh’s most frequent Indian subjects were Navaho, Zuni and Hopi. Indian Herder probably represents a Navaho woman, the chief sheep owners of the tribe. Her exposed breast (generally covered in the presence of whites) and the gourd water jug at her side reflect the artist’s intimate knowledge of Navaho life.”

PROVENANCE
J. C. Morganthau Family, New York, New York
Kennedy Galleries, New York, New York
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, 1981

EXHIBITED
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, The Vatican, Rome, Italy, 1983
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Lugano, Switzerland, 1984
American Masters: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, United States, 1984-86

LITERATURE
Barbara Novak, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: Nineteenth-Century American Painting, Sotheby’s Publications, 1986, pp. 325-26, illustrated

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.