Buffalo Run, 2014
oil on belgian linen
48 x 60 in
(121.92h x 152.4w cm)
SOLD
Once numbering over ten million and dispersed the distance from Alaska to Mexico, the American bison is truly an iconic symbol of the west. A victim of disease, commercial slaughter and government attempts to exterminate Native Americans, by the 1870s bison numbers plummeted below 500. Heroic efforts of early conservationists saved them from extinction, and today their numbers have rebounded to well over 500,000. Genetics research over the last few years has demonstrated that bison are an outstanding example of an ‘Ultimate Survivor’ species and well deserving of the term ‘Iconic’. This is the fifth painting of my bison running in snow series, which began with research conducted for the commission hanging in the exclusive Warren Miller Lodge of the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, MT. I am fascinated with the quiet drama of a bison herd plowing through winter snow. In this scene I depicted the bison in a slightly different setting with the snow showing signs of warming trends and spring right around the corner.
