192 A Game with the Victim

SOLD
Winning Bid Undisclosed
This item SOLD at 2015 Apr 11 @ 14:22UTC-7 : PDT/MST
Category Western Americana
Auction Currency USD
Start Price NA
Estimated at 250,000.00 - 350,000.00 USD
A Game with the Victim
Artist: Terpning, HowardDate of Birth: b. 1927
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 24 x 34 inches
Signed: Signed lower right and dated 75

The beautiful day is the real irony in Howard TerpningÕs A Game With The Victim. ItÕs ironic because, for the mountain man, all alone, itÕs the day of reckoning, the last day he will ever see. The blue sky, scudding clouds, and gorgeous mountains are indifferent witnesses to his plight. Surrounded on a broad plain, he has nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. While the two Indians in the foreground toy with him, the others hang back to watch. It isnÕt a fair fight, and it isnÕt meant to be. Early as this moment comes in the struggle for the West, the trappers and adventurers were typically outnumbered by Native Americans. This balance would tip as America pushed West, building forts, cities, railroads. But not today. Today you consider the trapperÕs predicament and your eye drops down from him to the inert white rocks, their hues echoing his white buckskins, foreshadowing his imminent doom. He may have one shot in his muzzleloader. That shot may offer him a very difficult way out.