Lot 227
Randy Lee White (formerly known as Whitehorse, b. Lubbock, Texas, 1951). "Followed" mixed media. 1986. Signature, date, and title handwritten below. A fascinating piece by Randy Lee White inspired by the Native American tradition of ledger painting. White's composition features an armed native warrior being followed by a galloping horse. The composition is delineated with White's signature drip-painted background and lively color palette on a large page of Boulder County's Cash Book, mounted in a custom frame behind glass. Size: 13.875" L x 22.25" W (35.2 cm x 56.5 cm); 21.75" L x 30.25" W (55.2 cm x 76.8 cm) framed
Randy Lee White's paintings are inspired by the Native American ledger painting tradition. While the Plains Indians did not have a written language to record their history, they created a pictorial way of preserving oral history, first via petroglyphs and pictographs on rock walls, and later with paintings on buffalo hide. In addition, visual records and stories were painted on garments and tipis. Then, when explorers and traders came to the Plains' lands in the 1830s, the indigenous peoples began using ledger books as canvases for their artwork. This practice continued throughout the 19th century, but came to a close for most by the 1930s.
Randy Lee White once called himself White Horse and identified as a Sioux of South Dakota; however, it was later discovered that he was a Texan with no indigenous blood. Despite this controversy, White's work has been collected by various museums, including The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. and the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois. The following are a few statements about White from the Butler Institute of American Art:
"Although White (born Whitehorse, but the artist dropped the 'horse' as many Native Americans in his generation do) uses a variety of media in his art, the constant ingredient in his works is the use of pictographs to tell a story and to enlighten the viewer. White's goals and aspirations for his art are ambitious. He wants to educate, enlighten, entertain, and keep the art form of pictographs alive for future generations."
"His paintings tell of tension and struggle; the tension between life and death, Indian versus white, fate versus knowledge of fate. White currently lives in Questa, New Mexico, a community possessing many different cultural bodies. In this type of culture within a culture, White feels that he is judged on the fruits of his labor and not on his ethnic heritage. As is the case with many artists of minority culture, White does not want to be labeled and pigeonholed with a culturally-tied title, such as 'Native American painter.' This is especially important for White, since he is only half Native American. His father was French. He wants to be considered on the merits of his work, not by his heritage."
Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010
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#174465
- Condition: Signature, date, and title handwritten below painting. Painting is framed behind glass and has not been examined outside the frame, but appears to be in excellent condition. Minor scuffs to the frame and a small 2" crack to glass at upper left corner. We would recommend replacing the glass sheet - easy to do at any professional frame shop. Fit with suspension wire and ready to display.
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