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"1876" - Gall - Sitting Bull - Crazy Horse

Currency:USD Category:Western Americana Start Price:NA Estimated At:45,000.00 - 65,000.00 USD
 1876  - Gall - Sitting Bull - Crazy Horse
"1876" - Gall - Sitting Bull - Crazy Horse
Artist: Coleman, JohnDate of Birth: b. 1949
Medium: Bronze, cast number 9/9
Dimensions: 30 inches high, 53 1/2 inches wide
Signed: Signed/CA, titled and dated 2008

John ColemanÕs 1876, merges history and legend in an appealing Òwhat ifÓ bronze. What if the three Native American principals in the Battle of the Little Bighorn had posed for an artist in that fateful year? Taking the figures one at a time, Gall holds a tomahawk. Coleman here is paying tribute to the story that Gall only carried a tomahawk into the battle. At center, Sitting Bull wears a warbonnet and holds a pipe. Coleman says, ÒThereÕs no real evidence he wore a warbonnet during that period, but I do know he was given a warbonnet after the battle, so I knew he owned one...And the pipe was specific to him as well.Ó (Johnny D. Boggs, Wild West, online publication, April 2, 2014). Then, at right, Crazy Horse. Because no images of Crazy Horse exist, Coleman researched his family, Òso this is my best interpretation.Ó (Boggs, Wild West) In the end, 1876 is a portrait, not, perhaps, from life, but from truth, and from a fine artistÕs feeling for the spirit of a historical moment. We walk away from the sculpture saying to ourselves, ÒIt might not have happenedÑat least, not this wayÑbut it should have.Ó