Lot 45
**Originally Listed At $250**
Jon Zahourek (American, b. 1940). Native American portrait. Watercolor on paper, n.d. Signed at lower right. A powerful study in form and feeling, this watercolor portrait by Jon Zahourek captures the solemn dignity of a Native American subject rendered in his signature expressive economy. The composition is small in scale but immense in presence: a darkly pigmented face with deep-set eyes, long flowing hair, and a set jaw emerges from washes of earthen umber, golden ochre, and soft graphite-gray. The head is framed by an arching brushstroke of warm tone that may suggest a feathered headdress, a halo of light, or the enclosing shape of memory itself. Though Zahourek would later gain acclaim for his anatomy models and educational systems, he began as a classically trained illustrator and painter, devoted above all to the human figure. This piece exemplifies the acute observational eye and deep emotional intuition that defined his early art career. Size of painting: 3.5" W x 4" H (8.9 cm x 10.2 cm); of frame: 8.75" W x 9.75" H (22.2 cm x 24.8 cm)
Working among a collaborative circle of artists in Taos and later Denver, Zahourek embraced a direct and instinctive approach to representation, one shaped more by lived encounter than academic tradition.
The portrait's immediacy hints at his future as a teacher and anatomical innovator - it is a work that feels both seen and built, constructed not only with pigment but with intention and reverence. The face is neither romanticized nor abstracted beyond recognition; it is instead rooted in presence, defined by the quiet weight of being.
In the 1960s, Jon Zahourek dropped out of college to become an artist. By way of Taos, New Mexico and later Denver, Colorado Zahourek was part of a thriving community of artists, exhibiting his work with prominent contemporaries including Ned Jacobs, Buffalo Kaplinski, George Carlson, and Fritz White. In the 1970s, Zahourek moved to New York to teach painting. He continued as an artist and educator, and eventually fueled his passion for anatomy into developing a system for teaching anatomy which has been used by more than 6,000 classrooms across the United States.
Provenance: private Grand Junction, Colorado, USA collection
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#195127
- Condition: Mounted behind glass in custom matte and frame with suspension wire on verso for display. Painting has not been examined outside of glass, but appears to be in excellent overall condition. Some minor scuffs to frame that do not affect painting. Signed at lower right.
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| $1,000 | $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $9,999 | $500 |
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| $200,000 + | $20,000 |