Indian Hospitality—Conversing by Signs - photo 1

Indian Hospitality—Conversing by Signs

Sold
$ 302 400
Auction dateClassic
26.05.2022 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 752886
Lot 145 | Indian Hospitality—Conversing by Signs
Indian Hospitality—Conversing by SignsAlfred Jacob Miller, c.1837ALFRED JACOB MILLER (1810-1874).Indian Hospitality—Conversing by Signsinscribed '40' (upper left)watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper laid down on board7 1⁄2 x 8 in. (19.1 x 20.3 cm.)Executed circa 1837.Provenance:The artist. Sir William Drummond Stewart, acquired from the above, circa 1839. Frank Nichols, by descent from the above. Sale: Chapman's, Edinburgh, Scotland, 16-17 June, 1871, sold by the above. Bonamy Mansell Power. Edward Power, bequest from the above, 1900. Major G.H. Power, Great Yarmouth, England, by decent. Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 6 May 1966, lot 10, sold by the above. Carl S. Dentzel, California, by 1982. Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, sold by the above. Private collection, South Dakota, acquired from the above, 1996. Sotheby's, New York, 8 April 2011, lot 148, sold by the above. Acquired by the late owner from the above.Exhibited:Denver, Colorado, Denver Art Museum, April 15-24, 1966. Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The American West: Painters from Catlin to Russell, March 21-May 28, 1972, no. 9, pl. 27, illustrated. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Lewis and Clark's America: A Voyage of Discovery, July 15-September 26, 1976, p. 31, no. 61, illustrated (as Indian and White Man Conversing in Sign Talk). Baltimore, Maryland, Walters Art Gallery; Fort Worth, Texas, Amon Carter Museum of American Art; Cody, Wyoming, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Alfred Jacob Miller: Artist on the Oregon Trail, October 16, 1981-September 30, 1982, pp. 58, 342, no. 417A, pl. 106, illustrated. Santa Fe, New Mexico, Gerald Peters Gallery; New York, Gerald Peters Gallery, Alfred Jacob Miller, Artist as Explorer: First Views of the American Frontier, September 1999-January 2000, pp. 174-75, pl. 59, illustrated. Fort Worth, Texas, Amon Carter Museum of American Art; Omaha, Nebraska, Joslyn Art Museum, Sentimental Journey: The Art of Alfred Jacob Miller, September 20, 2008-May 10, 2009, p. 79 n23.Literature:"Sale of Pictures from Murthly Castle", Scotsman, June 17, 1871, p. 2. "Sale of Antique Furniture and Tapestry from Murthly Castle", Scotsman, June 17, 1871, p. 2. Murthly Castle Estate Sale Notices, (Mr. Chapman's sale advertisement), Scotsman, June 19, 1871, p. 8. A.R. Hodge, Ecology and Ethnogenesis: An Environmental History of the Wind River Shoshones, 1000-1868, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2019, p. 191.The present work was probably executed in 1837, when Alfred Jacob Miller joined Sir William Drummond Stewart on an expedition through the American West, a journey that concluded at the annual rendezvous of fur trappers and traders in present-day Wyoming. Here he encountered the Snake Indians who became the subject of dozens of sketches that were later executed in final versions upon the artist's return to his New Orleans studio. Ron Tyler writes of the present work, "This sketch, which represents a Snake Indian family entertaining a trapper in their lodge, might be a self-portrait of a kind, since Miller, too, was included in such an entertainment...'We sat by the trapper at the feast who eat [sic] our share, seemed to enjoy it,' said Miller, 'and the etiquette appeared satisfactory to our hosts, in every respect.'" (Alfred Jacob Miller: Artist on the Oregon Trail, exhibition catalogue, Fort Worth, Texas, 1982, n.p.) According to Carol Clark, "Women and domestic life form a large subject group of Miller's watercolors, for to him these women represented the idyllic side of Indian life...The artist was impressed by the Indian woman's strength, especially her ability to bear and raise children in the wilderness. Miller painted women raising cradle boards proudly to display their offspring for the visitors, as in Indian Hospitality—Conversing by Signs..." (Alfred Jacob Miller: Artist on the Oregon Trail, p. 58)
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
26.05.2022 – 26.05.2022
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.