Crow Country
Artwork Description
“Crow Country” was a land truly blessed by Akba’tat-di’a (the Maker of Everything). At the height of Crow power, their territory consisted of some of the most stunning landscapes in all of North America. Extending from the Black Hills of North Dakota across Montana to the headwaters of the Yellowstone River in Wyoming, Crow country was a dynamic combination of buffalo-laden plains, thriving forests, mountain peaks and fertile valleys.
“My goal for this painting was to show a tranquil camp scene in a beautiful setting as a backdrop for a war party leaving to raid an enemy camp and perhaps steal some horses if the opportunity presented itself,” says Howard Terpning. “Normally, warriors heading for enemy camps to steal ponies would travel on foot and then ride the captured ponies back to their own camp, but they usually did what the leader of the war party wanted to do.”
Crow Country was one of the two stars of the recent Heritage Western & California Art Signature Auction in Dallas, TX. The only work commanding a higher price was Terpning’s own “Plunder from Sonora.” As stated by Ed Beardsley, Vice President of Fine & Decorative Arts at Heritage, “Not only did we offer some of the most recognizable names in Western art, it was arguably some of their finest work and observant buyers recognized that. It was a standing room only crowd of lovers of great Western and California art at Heritage’s world headquarters.” The auction included works of Bierstadt, Russell, Leigh and Fechin.
