163 A Narrow Escape - The Pony Express, 1861

SOLD
Winning Bid Undisclosed
This item SOLD at 2016 Apr 02 @ 13:23UTC-7 : PDT/MST
Category Art
Auction Currency USD
Start Price 9,000.00 USD
Estimated at 18,000.00 - 24,000.00 USD
A Narrow Escape - The Pony Express, 1861
Artist: Dudash, C. MichaelDate of Birth: b. 1952
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 36 x 48 inches
Signed: Signed lower right
Verso:

C. Michael Dudash’s A Narrow Escape—The Pony Express, 1861 is a harrowing scene if ever there was one. At full gallop, there’s little chance that the rider will hit any of the warriors riding full tilt after him. It’s a pretty sure bet that if your letter is in one of those saddlebags—which add weight to his already weighty problem—it isn’t going to reach its destination. Notice that the oft-quoted USPS credo “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” is mum on the subject of war parties. Still, you never know. Six rounds against spears and arrows might have a deterrent effect. Dudash keeps the paint active on the canvas, in keeping with the speed the work wants to capture. The horses’ legs shimmer and disappear in kicked up dust. Impressionistic vegetation underhoof and an unsettled sky keep the viewer’s eye moving through the picture.