Scottsdale Art Auction
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August 2025 | Live Online

Sat, Aug 23, 2025 12:00PM EDT
  2025-08-23 12:00:00 2025-08-23 12:00:00 America/New_York Scottsdale Art Auction Scottsdale Art Auction : August 2025 | Live Online https://bid.scottsdaleartauction.com/auctions/scottsdale-art-auction/august-2025-live-online-19671
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Lot 235

De Cost Smith (1864-1939) 24 1/2 x 32 inches

Estimate: $25,000 - $45,000
Starting Bid
$15,000

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,500
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
Artist: De Cost Smith; Title: Indian Encampment; Medium: Oil on canvas; Dimensions: 24 1/2 x 32 inches; Signed: Signed lower right; Framed/Base: 35 x 42 x 5 inches
Overall Dimensions
Height: 35.00
Width: 42.00
Depth: 5.00

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Provenance:   
Private collection, Nevada  
 
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.