209

Delano, Gerard Curtis (1890 - 1972)

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:100,000.00 USD Estimated At:100,000.00 - 150,000.00 USD
Delano, Gerard Curtis (1890 - 1972)
<strong>Delano, Gerard Curtis </strong>
(1890 - 1972)

<strong>Pueblo Ceremonial Dance, No. 107</strong>

oil on canvas
30 x 36 inches
signed lower left: <i>© Delano</i>
inscribed verso (on backing): <i>Pueblo Ceremony - Jan / Dance No. 107</i>

Gerard Curtis Delano was born in Marion, Massachusetts, to a family that traced its ancestry in America back to the early 17th century. Delano’s artistic ability was evident from an early age, but his family did not encourage his ambitions for a career in the arts. After working as a carpenter’s apprentice for a period to satisfy his family’s desire that he pursue architecture, Delano began his art studies in New Bedford, MA, in 1909. By the following year, he was studying at the Art Students League in New York under George Bridgman. He went on to study at the Grand
Central School of Art with several of the major figures in American illustration, including Dean Cornwell, Harvey Dunn, and N. C. Wyeth.

Delano served in the U.S. Navy during World War I, and was honorably discharged in 1918. In
1919 he had a chance to go west and visited Wyoming and Colorado, working for several
months on a ranch near Steamboat Springs. It was after his return to New York City in 1923 for further study at the Art Students League that he sold his first Western cover illustration to <i>Ace-High Magazine.</i> This led to work with other publications, and soon he was firmly launched as a cover artist and illustrator for <i>Ace-High, Western Story, Adventure, Cowboy Stories, Ranch Romances, Colliers,</i> and others.

With the advent of the Great Depression Delano’s career as a commercial artist went into decline.
He had speculated in the stock market and ended up “flat broke,” but ultimately considered this to be “the finest thing that ever happened to me.” Leaving the big city and the sorry state of his finances behind, Delano returned to his homesteader’s cabin in Colorado in 1933 and began to consider his talent in a different light. Delano continued to work as a commercial artist, but by 1940 he had decided to stake his future on fine-art painting rather than illustration. Delano first visited Arizona and the Navajo Reservation in the summer of 1940 and was enraptured by the
majestic beauty of the landscape and its native people. The Navajo and their unique environment were to become the dominant theme in Delano’s art for the remaining 32 years of his career. A characteristic post-1940 Delano painting depicts between one and three Navajo men
and/or women, either on foot or horseback, often watching over a herd of sheep or goats, frequently set in the vast expanses of Monument Valley or against the dramatic walls of Canyon de Chelly.

<i>Pueblo Ceremonial Dance No.107</i> presents a distinct contrast with this format: with approximately 50 figures evident, it has a population equivalent to at least 16 typical Delano paintings. One of the key elements by which to judge Delano’s finest work is the amount
of care the artist took in rendering the textiles in the scene, and <i>Pueblo Ceremonial Dance </i> offers a lavish display of Navajo and Rio Grande blankets, dance sashes, and brightly
colored skirts. Particularly notable is the beautiful Pendleton-type blanket worn by the foremost figure at far right. The piece is an exceptionally richly painted example of Delano’s work and is
further distinguished by the beautiful pointillist-style treament of the sky—an element that recalls
the work of the Taos Society artist Walter Ufer.—DC


Provenance:
Estate of Dr. Otey Johnson, Ardmore, Oklahoma

Literature:
Richard Bowman, <i>Walking with Beauty: The Art and Life of Gerard Curtis Delano, </i>
Denver, Colorado: Richard Bowman, 1990
Donald Hagerty, <i>Heart of the Desert: The West of Gerard Curtis Delano,</i> Santa
Fe, New Mexico: Gerald Peters Gallery, 2001