Lance Stealing Two Horses

Datec. 1870

DimensionsOverall: 5 7/8 × 8 3/4 in. (14.9 × 22.2 cm)

Object numberT0375

Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw

Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC

Label TextRed Lance Stealing Two Horses (top)ca. 1870 Red Lance Stealing Five Horses (bottom) Attributed to Red Lance, Cheyenne Oklahoma Pencil, ink and crayon on paper These drawings record two separate occasions when Red Lance, a Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne) warrior, successfully raided horses from enemy encampments. Horses represented stature and wealth, and stealing horses was considered a bold deed that counted as a war honor, or coup. In the top drawing, Red Lance is about to take two fine and spirited horses that are securely tethered to iron stakes in the ground. The hail of arrows on the left side of the drawing indicates that the enemy shot at Red Lance but the arrows flew past him, leaving him unharmed. The extreme danger of this feat earned him a higher level of coup, or war honor, than coup obtained for stealing horses from an enemy encampment under the cover of darkness.

Exhibition History"American Treasures from the Fenimore Art Museum," Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, February 20, 2004 - April 11, 2004.
ProvenanceMalcolm Grimmer, Santa Fe, New Mexico
BibliographyMorning Star Gallery/Parco, ca. 1992, n.p.

Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.161.

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 144.

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