JOHN D. FREE Osage Native Western Artist Watercolor Original Horse Painting

This is a John D. Free rare early watercolor painting. I bought from a doctor’s family from Pawhuska, Oklahoma and they received the painting from John D. Free himself because he traded it in exchange for medical care. Housed in a custom frame; outer dimensions measure 16 x 19 x 1.1 inches. Painting measures 8 x 11 inches. Signed lower right. About the Artist: Born in Pawhuska in 1929, John Dale Free grew up on his grandfather’s ranch near McAlester, Oklahoma. There he earned a lifelong admiration of cowboys and the ranching lifestyle. Upon graduating from high school he attended Oklahoma State University for a time with the intention of earning a degree in animal husbandry. He left college early to begin ranching and to compete on the rodeo circuit. In 1965 Free went to Taos, New Mexico, and for the next four years studied art under the direction of Tommy Lewis.In 1969 Free returned to Pawhuska to begin his career as a professional artist. By 1971 he had his first one-man show at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame (now the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum) in Oklahoma City and was becoming recognized for his talent. Many of his creations depicted American Indian subjects, reflecting his Osage/Cherokee heritage. In 1981 Free founded the Bronze Horse Foundry, a fine arts bronze foundry, to provide himself and others a convenient facility for casting their sculptures. This successful enterprise continued into the twenty-first century as a family business under the management of John Dale Free, Jr. John Free was a member of the Cowboy Artists of America and the National Academy of Western Artists and a lifetime member of the Oklahoma Sculpture Society. His work is held by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum of Oklahoma City, the Gilcrease Museum of Tulsa, the Woolaroc Museum of Bartlesville, and numerous private collections across the nation.“Dad was born in Pawhuska in Osage County. His grandmother was a full-blood Osage. He was very proud of that heritage and that part of his life,» says his son John Free Jr. «Probably the most important thing that happened to him was that he grew up on his grandfather’s ranch. That boyhood growing up on the ranch, of course he didn’t know at the time, would be the focus of his whole life from then on. He learned about horses and being a cowboy and about cows. He learned from his grandfather about being an old rancher was at that time. That was so special to him … and a tremendous influence and it shaped his art career probably in a way no one ever imagined. “He was always drawing and modeling as a little boy. He was always drawing horses, and cow and cowboys; he said he did this for as long as he could remember.One of Free’s best known bronzes is «Osage Warrior in the Enemy Camp» which shows an Osage warrior preparing to count coup on his enemies in a test of bravery. Among the Plains Indians of North America, counting coup involved the winning of prestige against an enemy. Native American warriors won prestige by acts of bravery in the face of the enemy, which could be recorded in various ways and retold as stories. Any blow struck against the enemy counted as a coup, but the most prestigious acts included touching an enemy warrior with a hand, bow, or coup stick and escaping unharmed. Touching the first enemy to die in battle or touching the enemy’s defensive works also counted as coup, as did, in some nations, simply riding up to an enemy, touching him with a short stick, and riding away unscathed. In 2019 Pickens Museum worked with John Free Jr. to enlarge «Osage Warrior in the Enemy Camp» to monumental size. The finished bronze stands eight feet tall and twelve feet long and is the first bronze by Free to be enlarged to monumental size. John Dale Free died in 2014.Source:Pickens Art Museum