Henry François Farny 1847 - 1916

Frederick Hudson Fine Art, New York
Hugh and Gay Eaton Collection, Aspen CO, acquired from the above in 2000

South Bend, Indiana, Snite Museum of Art, O'Shaughnessy Galleries, University of Notre Dame, The Realistic Expressions of Henry Farny: A Retrospective, May-July 1981, p. 26, illustrated in color; p. 62
New York, Spanierman Galleries, Masterworks by Henry Farny, October-November 1981, no. 10

This work is in very good condition. The paper support appears to have been mounted to board. There are a few tiny surface accretions visible in the sky, and some very light frame abrasion especially along the top and upper left edges.
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Henry Farny first encountered Native American Indians in 1853 when his family moved to rural Pennsylvania from his birthplace of Ribeauville, France. Farny's mother, who was a skilled nurse, often took Henry with her on trips to visit the local Onandaigua Indian reservation, where she provided medical care. In addition, his father established a sawmill in the surrounding pine forests and employed the local native population to help move rafts of logs down the river. Though the Farnys moved to Cincinnati after only six years in Pennsylvania, these experiences established the artist's love and appreciation for Native American life, which would preoccupy him for the remainder of his career.

Farny made his first trip to the American West in 1881, inspired by a desire to meet the legendary Chief Sitting Bull, who had recently surrendered to U.S. Forces after winning the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Farny was ultimately not able to meet Sitting Bull, but he was so impressed by the experience of the West and native culture that he returned to Cincinnati with a plethora of new ideas and artifacts which he then incorporated into his art. Though Farny primarily worked out of his studio in Cincinnati, he repeatedly traveled West, and developed close relationships with the Blackfoot, Zuni and particularly the Sioux tribes. The Sioux eventually adopted Farny; they called him 'Whizhays,' meaning Long Boots as well as 'Wasitcha,' which meant White Face Maker. His name was symbolically represented by a dot enclosed by a circle. This symbol accompanies his signature in the present work.

Farny's images reflect his respect for Native Americans and generally portrayed them in groups living in harmony with each other and the land. His works make few, if any, references to reservation life. As one critic noted, "the evidence of absolute fidelity and truth and unpretentious study of genuine Indians and real frontier life with which Farny's canvases fairly reek, given them a value that is not meretricious and altogether frank" (Richard H. Saunder, Collecting the West: The C.R. Smith Collection of Western American Art, Austin, Texas, 1988, p. 60).