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Lot Essay
Henry Farny's paintings of the great American West are some of the most enduring records of the rugged area that played such an important role in the nation's development. Farny traveled far and wide throughout the region, capturing snowy mountain peaks, fertile river valleys and broad stretches of plains. Most-heralded for his sensitive images featuring Native American life, Sage-Cock Shooting in Montana (Theodore Roosevelt 'Sage Grouse Shooting’) is a rare depiction of a specific individual within the artist’s oeuvre—highlighting the famed twenty-sixth president and his love of nature, hunting and the American frontier.
Widely considered one of America’s most celebrated presidents, Theodore Roosevelt is almost as well remembered for his politics as for his active physical lifestyle. Though a career politician, Roosevelt held a spirited love of the American West and its natural wonders. In 1883, at only 25, he purchased a ranch in the Dakota badlands, where he worked as a cattle rancher and cultivated a Western cowboy image and personality. An avid writer, Roosevelt documented his time in the Badlands in Hunting Trips of a Ranchman: Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail (1888), illustrated by Frederic Remington, and The Wilderness Hunter (1893). In an 1888 review of the former, The New York Times observed that the future president “has had full practical experience of what he writes about” and “to be a cowboy…is by no means an easy task.” (“New Publications,” The New York Times, November 30, 1888, p. 3) Roosevelt’s time as a cowboy eventually led to his establishment of the Rough-Riders, a colorful troupe during the Spanish-American War, which established him as a war hero and elevated him to a national stage.
As a politician, Roosevelt is best-remembered for his foreign policies, progressive reforms and conservation efforts. Preserving the nation’s forests and wildlife was of upmost importance to him, often prompted by his time in the West, including visits to both Yosemite National Park and Yellowstone National Park in 1903. At his urging, in 1905, Congress established the United States Forest Service, naming famed conservationist Gifford Pinchot its leader, and employed his presidential authority to create national forests from public lands, thus rendering them restricted from commercial uses. A 1908 conservation conference Roosevelt held at the White House resulted in both the creation of the National Conservation Commission and individual conservation commissions from 41 states. Roosevelt also signed five national parks into legislation during his tenure: Crater Lake, Oregon; Wind Cave, South Dakota; Sullys Hill, North Dakota; Mesa Verde, Colorado and Platt, Oklahoma. Today the area where Roosevelt developed his love of the outdoors in the Dakota Territories is known as Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Over the course of his leadership Roosevelt set aside a staggering 194 million acres—nearly five times the amount as all preceding presidents combined.
According to Denny Carter, Roosevelt was friendly with Farny and visited the painter in 1902, praising several of his paintings hanging on exhibition. Referring to the present work, Carter writes, "Farny had known Roosevelt for some time and had apparently hunted with him. A painting of Roosevelt on a grouse hunt is now in a private collection." (Henry Farny, New York, 1978, p. 31) The Cincinnati Commercial Tribune wrote about the encounter during the President’s visit 1902: “It so happens that President Roosevelt and Artist Henry Farny are warm personal friends and have been for many years. They hunted together in the far West when was Theodore Roosevelt was known only as an ardent amateur sportsman, and in the world of literature as an author on subjects pertaining to hunting and the great and comparatively unknown West. That friendship has continued through all the rapid changes in the life of Theodore Roosevelt.” (“Roosevelt Interested in Art and Animals,” The Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, September 21, 1902, p. 2)
The present work was reproduced as an illustration in Dwight William Huntington’s 1898 book In Brush, Sedge, Stubble: A Picture Book of the Shooting-Fields and Feathered Game of North America with the caption “Sage-Cock Shooting in Montana.” The illustration accompanies the chapter titled “Sage Grouse,” in which the author begins discussing various opinions on eating the bird. Huntington writes, “There is much diversity of opinion as to the table qualities of the sage-grouse… Mr. Roosevelt, however, says: ‘Although it is commonly believed that the flesh of the sage-grouse is uneatable, this is very far from being the truth; on the contrary, it is excellent in August and September, when grasshoppers constitute their chief food.’ The birds killed by Mr. Roosevelt were shot in the neighborhood of his ranch on the Little Missouri, just east of the locality where I last shot sage-grouse…I have shot them in Utah and Wyoming, and in Montana, and am inclined to agree with Roosevelt…The soldiers of our escort were always glad to get them, I observed, as agreeable change from venison.” (In Brush, Sedge, Stubble: A Picture Book of the Shooting-Fields and Feathered Game of North America, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1898, pp. 8-9) Roosevelt himself spoke to hunting as a favorite pastime, writing, "for I am very fond of hunting, and there are few sensations I prefer to that of galloping over these rolling, limitless prairies, rifle in hand." (as quoted in H. Hagedorn, “The Roosevelt Country: The Bad Lands of North Dakota where a Young Man Who Became President of the United States Once Rode the Ranges as a Cow-Puncher,” The Outlook, October 19, 1921, p. 259)
In Sage-Cock Shooting in Montana (Theodore Roosevelt 'Sage Grouse Shooting’), three principal figures carefully pick their way through the landscape in search of their quarry. Farny expertly conveys the intense sport and harsh conditions with his sparse composition that nonetheless infuses each element with abundant detail. To emphasize the ethereal beauty of the untouched land, Farny uses cool tones of blue and violet to depict the sunbaked landscape. The pale, hardened ground complements the distant darker hills, with a narrow band of cerulean denoting the horizon. Exquisite in detail and exceedingly rare in subject, Sage-Cock Shooting in Montana (Theodore Roosevelt 'Sage Grouse Shooting’) is a one-of-a-kind manifestation of Farny and Roosevelt’s mutual love, respect and dedication to the American West. Indeed, what Roosevelt is known to have said to Farny could also be said of himself: “The Nation owes you a great debt. It does not realize now, but it will some day. You are preserving for future generations phases of American history that rapidly are passing away.” (as quoted in Indian Hill Historical Museum Association, Henry Farny, exhibition catalogue, 1975, n.p.)
Widely considered one of America’s most celebrated presidents, Theodore Roosevelt is almost as well remembered for his politics as for his active physical lifestyle. Though a career politician, Roosevelt held a spirited love of the American West and its natural wonders. In 1883, at only 25, he purchased a ranch in the Dakota badlands, where he worked as a cattle rancher and cultivated a Western cowboy image and personality. An avid writer, Roosevelt documented his time in the Badlands in Hunting Trips of a Ranchman: Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail (1888), illustrated by Frederic Remington, and The Wilderness Hunter (1893). In an 1888 review of the former, The New York Times observed that the future president “has had full practical experience of what he writes about” and “to be a cowboy…is by no means an easy task.” (“New Publications,” The New York Times, November 30, 1888, p. 3) Roosevelt’s time as a cowboy eventually led to his establishment of the Rough-Riders, a colorful troupe during the Spanish-American War, which established him as a war hero and elevated him to a national stage.
As a politician, Roosevelt is best-remembered for his foreign policies, progressive reforms and conservation efforts. Preserving the nation’s forests and wildlife was of upmost importance to him, often prompted by his time in the West, including visits to both Yosemite National Park and Yellowstone National Park in 1903. At his urging, in 1905, Congress established the United States Forest Service, naming famed conservationist Gifford Pinchot its leader, and employed his presidential authority to create national forests from public lands, thus rendering them restricted from commercial uses. A 1908 conservation conference Roosevelt held at the White House resulted in both the creation of the National Conservation Commission and individual conservation commissions from 41 states. Roosevelt also signed five national parks into legislation during his tenure: Crater Lake, Oregon; Wind Cave, South Dakota; Sullys Hill, North Dakota; Mesa Verde, Colorado and Platt, Oklahoma. Today the area where Roosevelt developed his love of the outdoors in the Dakota Territories is known as Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Over the course of his leadership Roosevelt set aside a staggering 194 million acres—nearly five times the amount as all preceding presidents combined.
According to Denny Carter, Roosevelt was friendly with Farny and visited the painter in 1902, praising several of his paintings hanging on exhibition. Referring to the present work, Carter writes, "Farny had known Roosevelt for some time and had apparently hunted with him. A painting of Roosevelt on a grouse hunt is now in a private collection." (Henry Farny, New York, 1978, p. 31) The Cincinnati Commercial Tribune wrote about the encounter during the President’s visit 1902: “It so happens that President Roosevelt and Artist Henry Farny are warm personal friends and have been for many years. They hunted together in the far West when was Theodore Roosevelt was known only as an ardent amateur sportsman, and in the world of literature as an author on subjects pertaining to hunting and the great and comparatively unknown West. That friendship has continued through all the rapid changes in the life of Theodore Roosevelt.” (“Roosevelt Interested in Art and Animals,” The Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, September 21, 1902, p. 2)
The present work was reproduced as an illustration in Dwight William Huntington’s 1898 book In Brush, Sedge, Stubble: A Picture Book of the Shooting-Fields and Feathered Game of North America with the caption “Sage-Cock Shooting in Montana.” The illustration accompanies the chapter titled “Sage Grouse,” in which the author begins discussing various opinions on eating the bird. Huntington writes, “There is much diversity of opinion as to the table qualities of the sage-grouse… Mr. Roosevelt, however, says: ‘Although it is commonly believed that the flesh of the sage-grouse is uneatable, this is very far from being the truth; on the contrary, it is excellent in August and September, when grasshoppers constitute their chief food.’ The birds killed by Mr. Roosevelt were shot in the neighborhood of his ranch on the Little Missouri, just east of the locality where I last shot sage-grouse…I have shot them in Utah and Wyoming, and in Montana, and am inclined to agree with Roosevelt…The soldiers of our escort were always glad to get them, I observed, as agreeable change from venison.” (In Brush, Sedge, Stubble: A Picture Book of the Shooting-Fields and Feathered Game of North America, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1898, pp. 8-9) Roosevelt himself spoke to hunting as a favorite pastime, writing, "for I am very fond of hunting, and there are few sensations I prefer to that of galloping over these rolling, limitless prairies, rifle in hand." (as quoted in H. Hagedorn, “The Roosevelt Country: The Bad Lands of North Dakota where a Young Man Who Became President of the United States Once Rode the Ranges as a Cow-Puncher,” The Outlook, October 19, 1921, p. 259)
In Sage-Cock Shooting in Montana (Theodore Roosevelt 'Sage Grouse Shooting’), three principal figures carefully pick their way through the landscape in search of their quarry. Farny expertly conveys the intense sport and harsh conditions with his sparse composition that nonetheless infuses each element with abundant detail. To emphasize the ethereal beauty of the untouched land, Farny uses cool tones of blue and violet to depict the sunbaked landscape. The pale, hardened ground complements the distant darker hills, with a narrow band of cerulean denoting the horizon. Exquisite in detail and exceedingly rare in subject, Sage-Cock Shooting in Montana (Theodore Roosevelt 'Sage Grouse Shooting’) is a one-of-a-kind manifestation of Farny and Roosevelt’s mutual love, respect and dedication to the American West. Indeed, what Roosevelt is known to have said to Farny could also be said of himself: “The Nation owes you a great debt. It does not realize now, but it will some day. You are preserving for future generations phases of American history that rapidly are passing away.” (as quoted in Indian Hill Historical Museum Association, Henry Farny, exhibition catalogue, 1975, n.p.)