The Indian and the Lily

Artist George de Forest Brush (1855 - 1941)

Date1887

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions21 x 20 in. (53.3 x 50.8 cm)
Framed: 29 in. × 28 1/2 in. × 2 1/4 in.

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2010.83

Signedl.r., in red paint: Geo. De. F. Brush / Florida. 1887

Accession number 2010.83

On View

Not on view

Provenanceacquired from the Artist by Charles Shipman, Jersey City, NJ, 1888; C.D. Miller, Jersey City, NJ, by May 1893; Irving M. Scott [1837-1899], San Francisco, CA, by 1897; (American Art Galleries, Mendelssohn Hall, New York, NY), The Valuable Collection of Old and Modern Masters, Formed by the late Irving M. Scott of San Francisco, February 9, 1906; purchased for $4,000 by (Arthur Tooth & Sons, New York, NY); George Woodward [1863-1952], Philadelphia, PA, by November 1906; (William Macbeth Galleries, New York, NY); Mr. and Mrs. Carll Tucker, New York, NY; (Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, NY); purchased by Pierre Bergé [b. 1930], New York, NY, by 1985; to (Sotheby's, New York, NY), December 1, 2004, lot 136; purchased by a private foundation for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2004
Label TextPrior to completing this painting, George de Forest Brush visited members of the Apache nation imprisoned by the United States government in St. Augustine, Florida. Ignoring the terrible conditions he witnessed at the prison, Brush presented a scene of an unidentified Native man set in an idealized world of peace and pristine nature. On the man’s back is a Roseate Spoonbill, which had been almost hunted to extinction by European Americans because its pink-tinged plumes were sought after to decorate women’s hats. The artist used this symbolism to suggest the threats facing Native people’s survival in the late 1800s.

Antes de trabajar en esta pintura, George de Forest Brush visitó a miembros de la nación apache que estaban en la cárcel por orden del Gobierno de los Estados Unidos en St. Augustine, Florida. Ignorando las condiciones terribles de las que fue testigo en la cárcel, Brush presentó una escena de un nativo no identificado situado en un mundo idealizado de paz y naturaleza prístina. El hombre carga a sus espaldas una espátula rosada, ave que los estadounidenses de origen europeo cazaron hasta su extinción por su plumaje con tintes rosados que eran muy buscados para decorar sombreros de mujeres. El artista recurrió a este simbolismo para sugerir las amenazas que enfrentaba la supervivencia de los pueblos nativos a fines del siglo XIX.
Markingsverso: [Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc. label]
verso: [Hirschl & Adler Galleries inc. label]
verso: [National Gallery of Art label]
verso: [barcode] N08032 0136
verso: [barcode] / 324ZZ / GEORGE DE FOREST BRUSH, The Indian and the Lily
verso: APG 2740