Harry Jackson (American, 1924-2011) Range Burial

Description:

Harry Jackson (American, 1924-2011)

Range Burial
Signed, dated, and numbered "Harry Jackson/1959/4" and with a the artist's thumb print on the l.r. side edge, incised "PIETRASANTA ITALY FONDERIA/VIGNALI TOMASSI" on the l.r. edge of the back of the base.
Bronze with a dark gray patina, 15 x 43 x 23 in. (38.1 x 109.2 x 58.4 cm), presented without a plinth.
Condition: Dust and dirt to the interstices, areas of minor wear to the patina.

Provenance: The collection of Joseph Thomas Alvarez III, California.

N.B. Two major bronzes by Harry Jackson, Stampede and Range Burial, have been described as poles of violent energy versus absolute stillness. They present the two-part narrative of a wild stampede during which one of the cowboys is killed and then a somber gathering as he is buried on the open range. In approaching the subject of the burial, Harry Jackson was influenced by Gustave Courbet (French, 1819-1877), and more specifically Courbet's monumental painting A Burial at Ornans done in 1849-1850. In that work, now in the Musée d'Orsay, Courbet depicted the burial of his great-uncle with challenging, unflattering accuracy and at a scale (10 x 22 feet) theretofore reserved for history or religious painting. The similarities with Jackson's Range Burial include not only impressive scale but the austere landscape, the gathering around the grave site of multiple figures which are conceived as individual portraits, and the foreground open grave. Jackson substituted a blasted tree for the crucifix in Courbet's work.
Estimate $35,000-55,000

Range Burial was issued in an edition of 7, of which this is cast 4.


Items may have wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging. Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.

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