.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Action unravels in William Robinson Leigh’s Buffalo Fights Back, a cinematic, 360-degree view of a buffalo hunt gone wrong. Featuring the artist’s characteristic palette of complementary warm oranges and cool blues, distinct drama and narrative unfold as the painter characteristically thrusts the scene upon his viewer. In the middleground, a violent collision between a charging buffalo and a mounted horse forms a visually striking composition of diagonals. As the mounted Indian is sent flying backwards, the animals’ forward momentum seems to send them tumbling dangerously toward to the viewer. Kicked up by stampeding hooves, a layer of swirling dust rises and distorts the background where only the silhouettes of other mounted riders can be identified in the distance. The artist painted a similar subject in Tables Turned of 1948 (Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana) a scene that mirrors the perspective of Buffalo Fights Back.
From a young age, William Robinson Leigh showed immense talent as an artist, attending the Maryland Institute in Baltimore before enrolling in 1883 at the Royal Academy in Munich, where he spent the next twelve years. Leigh emerged an accomplished draftsman with a strong sense of composition, vigorous brushwork and his renowned high-keyed palette–all present in Buffalo Fights Back. Even while studying in Europe, the young artist dreamt of the American West, painting his earliest known Western work in 1892 while immersed in his studies. Leigh explained, “I have always felt that the West was the place for me. Even in Europe (as a student), I had this in my mind as my objective, and consistently worked and planned to the end that I might go there and paint.” (as quoted in P.H. Hassrick, 100 Years of Western Art from Pittsburgh Collections, exhibition catalogue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1982, p. 18)
Upon his return to the United States in 1896, Leigh settled in New York City and accepted a position as an illustrator for Scribner’s magazine and others, while also trying to establish himself as a professional artist. The opportunity for Leigh to explore the West first came in 1906, when he was invited to travel on assignment to Laguna, New Mexico. Unable to finance the expedition in its entirety, Leigh appealed to the manager at the Santa Fe Railroad advertising division and secured a train ticket in exchange for executing an image of the Grand Canyon for use in a calendar. In September of that year, Leigh arrived in Laguna and was awe struck by his surroundings, recalling, “I stood alone in a strange and thrilled scene. At last I was on the land where I was to prove whether I was fit–worthy of the opportunity–able to do it justice…” (as quoted in D.D. Cummins, William Robinson Leigh: Western Artist, Norman, Oklahoma, 1980, pp. 86-87)
Fortunately, Leigh’s training in Munich paid off, and he set about to create truly Western art grounded in his love of narrative subjects and his impression of the natural Western landscape. In works like Buffalo Fights Back, Leigh remained true to that Munich training, striving for a realistic and highly finished composition. The artist captures the drama, which was intricately linked to life in the Old West in the minds of the general public, with keen attention to not only detail and light but, perhaps most importantly, to design.
The present work is exemplary of Leigh’s technical prowess, unique style and his ability to capture the drama of the Old West through his masterfully designed narrative. Leigh’s most successful compositions, such as the present work, are grounded in the artist's own personal fascination with the West and that of a generation gripped by the popular myths pervasive in literature and illustration.
From a young age, William Robinson Leigh showed immense talent as an artist, attending the Maryland Institute in Baltimore before enrolling in 1883 at the Royal Academy in Munich, where he spent the next twelve years. Leigh emerged an accomplished draftsman with a strong sense of composition, vigorous brushwork and his renowned high-keyed palette–all present in Buffalo Fights Back. Even while studying in Europe, the young artist dreamt of the American West, painting his earliest known Western work in 1892 while immersed in his studies. Leigh explained, “I have always felt that the West was the place for me. Even in Europe (as a student), I had this in my mind as my objective, and consistently worked and planned to the end that I might go there and paint.” (as quoted in P.H. Hassrick, 100 Years of Western Art from Pittsburgh Collections, exhibition catalogue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1982, p. 18)
Upon his return to the United States in 1896, Leigh settled in New York City and accepted a position as an illustrator for Scribner’s magazine and others, while also trying to establish himself as a professional artist. The opportunity for Leigh to explore the West first came in 1906, when he was invited to travel on assignment to Laguna, New Mexico. Unable to finance the expedition in its entirety, Leigh appealed to the manager at the Santa Fe Railroad advertising division and secured a train ticket in exchange for executing an image of the Grand Canyon for use in a calendar. In September of that year, Leigh arrived in Laguna and was awe struck by his surroundings, recalling, “I stood alone in a strange and thrilled scene. At last I was on the land where I was to prove whether I was fit–worthy of the opportunity–able to do it justice…” (as quoted in D.D. Cummins, William Robinson Leigh: Western Artist, Norman, Oklahoma, 1980, pp. 86-87)
Fortunately, Leigh’s training in Munich paid off, and he set about to create truly Western art grounded in his love of narrative subjects and his impression of the natural Western landscape. In works like Buffalo Fights Back, Leigh remained true to that Munich training, striving for a realistic and highly finished composition. The artist captures the drama, which was intricately linked to life in the Old West in the minds of the general public, with keen attention to not only detail and light but, perhaps most importantly, to design.
The present work is exemplary of Leigh’s technical prowess, unique style and his ability to capture the drama of the Old West through his masterfully designed narrative. Leigh’s most successful compositions, such as the present work, are grounded in the artist's own personal fascination with the West and that of a generation gripped by the popular myths pervasive in literature and illustration.