E. Irving Couse 1866-1936

Private Collection, Florida (sale: Coeur d'Alene, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, August 14, 1993, lot 111)
Acquired at the above sale

Very good condition; lined, faint craquelure in Indian's hair; under UV: a 2 inch area with strokes of retouching at lower center edge. A few other scattered dots of retouching.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Among the Taos society members, Eanger Irving Couse achieved the most distinguished recognition during his lifetime.  His academic approach and sympathetic depictions of Native Americans were highly regarded and popular with both prize juries and the public for many years.  When Couse met Joseph Henry Sharp, Ernest Blumenschein and Bert Phillips in Paris in 1896, they told him of the beauty of the Taos people and their willingness to model.  Intrigued by their descriptions, Couse traveled to New Mexico for the first time in 1902 and eventually sojourned there every summer from 1904-27, spending the remainder of the year in New York.  Patricia Janis Broder writes: "Taos was everything Couse had dreamed of. The Taos people and their routines of life at the pueblo satisfied all of his artistic requirements and desires.  He recognized that in the Pueblos of the Southwest he had found the ideal Indian subjects for his paintings" (Taos: A Painter's Dream, 1980, p. 149).

Couse was predominantly a studio painter and rarely worked out-of-doors.  As a result, many of his paintings, like The Arrowmaker, are small intimate scenes in which he depicts his subjects in traditional clothing engaged in crafts indigenous to the specific region.  He hired local Taos Indians to model for him and Ben Luhan, pictured here, was one of his favorite models; he worked with the artist for almost thirty-five years. Couse admired the artistic skills of the Pueblo tribes, and collected pots, blankets, baskets and costumes to use as studio props for his paintings. In the present painting he has included both the delicate beaded shoes and pottery of the local Indians dramatizing the act of arrow-making by using the light of the fire to create a mystical atmosphere.