Deer in the Forest, 1888
by Henry F. Farny (1847–1916)18⅝ x 12 3/16 inches
Signed and dated lower right: • FARNY • /88
Information
Provenance
Harrison Ambrose, Cincinnati, Ohio
Edna Ambrose, East Orange, New Jersey, daughter of above
Private collection, by descent from above
Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, New York, April 23, 1981, lot 133, acquired from above
The Westervelt Company, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, acquired from above
Sale, Christie’s Online, November 14–20, 2019, lot 187, from above
Note: During his excursions to the West, Henry F. Farny became close with the Blackfoot, Zuni, and Sioux people. The Sioux called him Whizhays, meaning “Long Boots,” and Wasitcha, meaning “White Face Maker.” They represented his name with a symbol of a dot within a circle. The signature on this painting is accompanied by this symbol.
Artist Biography
Born in Alsace, France, Henry F. Farny moved to Warren, Pennsylvania with his family in 1853 following the rise of the Napoleonic party. While living in Pennsylvania for six years, Farny met the Seneca Indians. American Indians would become the most prominent subject for Farny’s art. When the family moved to Cincinnati in 1859, Farny worked as an apprentice lithographer and then briefly as an illustrator for Harper’s Weekly in New York. To further his training, Farny traveled to Europe, studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Dusseldorf, Germany under Hermann Herzog and Thomas Read. While in Dusseldorf,