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De Cost Smith (1864-1939) - 30 1/4 x 24 inches

Currency:USD Category:Art / General - Paintings Start Price:5,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD
De Cost Smith (1864-1939) - 30 1/4 x 24 inches
SOLD
7,000.00USDto floor+ buyer's premium
This item SOLD at 2025 Aug 23 @ 13:42UTC-07:00 : PDT/MST
Artist: De Cost Smith; Title: Iroquois Hunter; Medium: Oil on canvas; Dimensions: 30 1/4 x 24 inches; Signed: Signed and dated 1888 lower left; Framed/Base: 40 x 34 x 5 inches

This lot's overall appearance is Excellent. This piece was evaluated under a black light. This piece has been lined. Three small areas of overpaint above figures head, largest being 1" x 1/4". Small cross shaped area of overpaint about 1/4" x 1/4" on figures left leg.

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De Cost Smith was born in 1864 in upstate New York and was immediately drawn to the life and culture of the American Indians he came across around his home. His childhood home was located near the Reservation of the Onondaga Tribe. Like early members of the Taos Society of Artists, Smith studied art in New York City before traveling to the Academie Julian in Paris, where his scenes of Native life were shown in the school’s salons. At this early moment in his career, he was also inspired by the Indian paintings of George De Forest Brush.

In 1884, he took his first trip to the Dakota Territory to complete more paintings of Native life. Here he traveled extensively among the many tribes of the plains and even learned to speak several dialects. He illustrated many articles for Outing Magazine along with fellow artist Edwin Willard Deming. His archives can be found at Cornell University and several of his works can be found in the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.

His later work focused on the difficulties faced by the Sioux people. His painting Driven Back was included in the art exhibition at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.