Cowboy Artists of America, 1999

Very good condition, unlined; under UV: fine.
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Like many renowned painters of the American West, Howard Terpning was first recognized as an illustrator before he became a successful artist.  After serving in the Marine Corps and graduating from both the Art Institute of Chicago and the city's American Academy of Fine Art, Terpning left his native Chicago to begin his career in New York, where he worked for an illustration house for five years before opening his own studio as an independent illustrator.  In 1967 Terpning traveled to Vietnam with the Marines as a civilian combat artist to document the war.  Having served in the past, Terpning was granted temporary rank of Major which allowed him to go behind enemy lines and experience the intensity of the war first-hand.  According to Elmer Kelton, "Out of that harrowing experience came ... A much-diminished regard for material things and a heightened empathy with distressed and deprived people.  That empathy would later carry over with much effect into his paintings of the Plains Indians" (Elmer Kelton, The Art of Howard Terpning, 1992, p. 154).  When Terpning returned to the United States, he continued working as a commercial artist, but ultimately found it unsatisfying.  Terpning decided to move to Arizona to pursue a career in fine art.  In Tucson, Teꦿrpning was able to paint the subject which inspired him the most, the history and culture of the Native American Indians. 

Terpning's passion for the philosophy and culture of the American Indian derives from his interest in their beliefs, understanding of their surroundings and appreciation for their land.  According to Terpning, "I think it's important to tell the story of the Plains Indians because it is part of our heritage, part of our history" (The Art of Howard Terpning, 1992, p. 159).  In War Stories a Crow scout unfolds a robe made of buffalo hide, a meaningful garment symbolizing the triumphs of his hunts and bravery in warfare, as he carefully tells a story to two cavalrymen.  With the absence of any written language among Indian tribes, storytelling was an essential and crucial element in learning from and preserving the past.  The Crow scout shares the customs of his people as an act of respect and trust with the officer and sergeant.  The scout shows his loyalty to the army men by wearing a civilian shirt and adopts from them only what he deems necessary or helpful, keeping his traditional moccasins, beaded necklace and feather-adorned medicine pouch, trappings of a true Indian brave.  Terpning states, "We could have learned so much from the American Indians, if we had had the interest to listen to them and pay attention to them" (The Art of Howard Terpning, 1992, p. 153).