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Will James (1892-1942)

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:5,000.00 USD Estimated At:25,000.00 - 35,000.00 USD
Will James (1892-1942)
Here’s Hoping… 13” x 12” framed to 23” x 22” Watercolor and pencil on paper Signed and dated lower left with III – ’25 Inscribed lower right and titled lower center Title: Here’s Hoping that the Trail Ahead Keeps Moist.... But Not Too Moist footprints below. Inscription: With compliments’ our friends – Maude and Cese from Alice and Bill III – ’25 This recently discovered 1925 watercolor was created the same year “Smoky” was written at the ranch near Franktown in the Washoe Valley of Nevada. It is unpublished, which is rare for James’ material and was executed for presentation to friends. The short period that James spent at the Franktown location was what most Will James’ fans consider to be his most creative period and when he produced his best work. This was also when he was exploding on the scene through Scribner’s. The piece itself has Will toasting to Fred Conradt, his wife Alice’s brother who later became his ranch foreman. James authority Abe Hayes stated in Will James: The Spirit of the Cowboy in 1985, "...James' output of watercolors was small, only 32 published and a few unpublished ones that I have seen..."