2015 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction / Lot 42266 / 290  •  View Catalog  •   • 

42
Howard Terpning (b. 1927)
Badger Medicine (1995)
oil on board
38.5 × 24 inches
signed and dated lower right

VERSO
Signed and titled
Label, Prix de West Invitational
Label, Autry National Center

According to Harley Brown in Tribute to the Plains People, “This warrior’s spiritual ally from the animal world is the badger, easily provoked and fierce in battle. The arresting portrait embodies many of Howard’s skills as a painter and storyteller.

“The figure, though motionless, has strong visual movement. The badger headdress rises off the canvas as the light-colored thongs frame the warriors painted face. Blue background highlights push the painted buffalo robe forward, the better for the viewer to see its painted stories.

“Throughout his career, Howard never took shortcuts with authenticity regardless of the time and effort in finding the ‘real’ thing. Note this individual’s 1840s moccasins and the pipe bag in his arms.”

EXHIBITED
Prix de West Invitational, National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center, Oklahoma City, OK, June - Sept 1995
Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA, May 12 - July 1, 2012

LITERATURE
Catalog, Prix de West Invitational (Oklahoma City, OK: National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center, 1995), page 145, illustrated
Don Hedgpeth, Spirit of the Plains People (Shelton, CT: The Greenwich Workshop, Inc., 2001), page 174, illustrated
Harley Brown, Terpning: Tribute to the Plains People (Seymour, CT: The Greenwich Workshop, Inc., 2012), page 91, illustrated

42

Howard Terpning

b. 1927

Badger Medicine (1995)
oil on board
38.5 × 24 inches
signed and dated lower right
Sold at Auction: $526,500
Condition ReportSurface condition excellent with no signs of inpainting.

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.