George de Forest Brush

This oil painting isn't as gory as it looks. That's a flamingo being plucked. I didn't know that North American Indians hunted flamingos, let alone leopards, but that is obviously a leopard-skin rug. The myth is that Indian head dresses were made out of eagle feathers. (A warrior tarting himself up with a girlie bird knocks the image, doesn't it?) It's fair to assume that this painting The Head Dress (1890) is authentic, rather than fanciful, because it was painted by the American George de Forest Brush (1855 - 1941) who lived among the Arapahoe, Shoshone, and Crow Indians in Wyoming and Montana. (Click the title link for a painting of an Indian capturing a swan.) Brush studied under the great Jean-Léon Gérôme in Paris and his paintings were snapped up by private collectors. If you've never heard of him before, blame those collectors! Now, the National Gallery of Art and the Seattle Art Museum have brought together 20 of Brush's masterpieces. George de Forest Brush: The Indian Paintings opened last Saturday in Washington DC and continues until 4 January 2009. On 26 February it reopens in Seattle. Don't miss this rare treat.