Page 14 - 2021 March Sealed Bid Catalogue

Lot 5—EANGER IRVING COUSE—Turkey Hunter in the Aspens
Eanger Irving Couse grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. He showed early artistic promise as a young student. His interest in depicting the cultures of Native Americans began with his observations of nearby Chippewa Indians. His formal training in artistic techniques began in the late 1880s in Paris at the Ecole De Beaux Arts. Returning to America he began painting at Walker Ranch in Oregon. However, he then became drawn to Taos by its unusually helpful lighting conditions for a painter as well as the availability of models. This enabled him to develop a variety of compositions focused on the southwestern culture of the Pueblo Indians.
Scenes depicting Indians hunting in the New Mexico environment represent a recurring theme in the works of Eanger Irving Couse. This is evident in the biography of Couse by his granddaughter, Virginia Couse Leavitt, titled, Eanger Irving Couse—The Life and Times of an American Artist 1866-1936. Works featuring hunting scenes are addressed a half dozen times. In particular, this includes a piece on the dust cover titled, Hunting Cranes,1914. Its effective composition is echoed in this scene depicting turkey hunting.
Following completion of her comprehensive book about Couse’s early days, his extensive artistic training in Europe, and his transition to the southwest where the ready availability of native models presented highly engaging opportunities to capture authentic compositions, Virginia Leavitt is now compiling a definitive catalogue raisonné for Couse’s works. It is expected that this painting will be included in that comprehensive data base.
Couse’s role as one of six founding members of the Taos Art Society is sometimes underappreaciated. He was the group’s first president. Like Joseph H. Sharp, his European training as an artist and his low key personality enabled him to command respect of many other artists.