VERSO
Signed and titled

The artist wrote, “During the first decade of the nineteenth century, while Lewis and Clark were carrying on their explorations, Manuel Lisa, a Spaniard, was making a name for himself as one of the most prominent of the early fur traders. He worked in and around St. Louis which at that time was a town of about 1,000 inhabitants. St. Louis was the fur center of that part of the country.

“Lisa traded with various Indian tribes, but mostly with the Osages. As a matter of fact, when Zebulon Pike made his trip to the Grand Osage Village, he found that Lisa had established a fur camp there.

“Manuel Lisa, energetic, daring, and ambitious, was the very spirit of the early fur trade. When someone once asked him what the secret of his success was, he answered, ‘While others are thinking about doing something, I go ahead and do it.’ He was one of the first men to take advantage of the great impetus which Lewis and Clark’s Expedition had given to the Indian trade. Not long afterward he helped to establish the Missouri Fur Company of St. Louis, which became one of the most important fur trading organizations in the West.

“In exchange for the beaver skins and other furs which he obtained from the Osages, Manuel Lisa traded ‘made’ whiskey (which had been diluted with water), colored beads, mirrors, guns, knives, and many other articles prized by the Indians.”

PROVENANCE
Gloria Gray, Riverside, California
Private collection, Arizona
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, Reno, Nevada, 2020
Private collection, Tucson, Arizona

Additional Resources

• Gerard Curtis Delano’s Past Results
• View Condition Report

Condition ReportSurface is in good condition. Faint hairline cracks in cloud, and one on lead horse’s neck.

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.