Artist Sitting Bull/Scabby Bull (Inunaina (Arapaho) or Tsitsistas/Suhtai (Cheyenne))

Red Horse

Datec. 1875-1878

DimensionsOverall: 5 5/8 × 11 1/2 in. (14.3 × 29.2 cm)

Object numberT0383

Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw

Photograph by Richard Walker

Label TextIn these two drawings, the artist, Sitting Bull, documented an unsuccessful horse raid by two fellow Inunaina (Arapaho) men, Eagle Chief and Dog, who are identified by their name glyphs. Young men, anxious to establish themselves, often carried out horse raids together. Here Eagle Chief and Dog flee on Dog’s horse while two Apsaalooke (Crow) warriors fire rifles at them. They ride double because Eagle Chief’s horse was mortally wounded. Blood flows from a gunshot wound in Eagle Chief’s leg. Dog will receive an important coup for saving his compatriot. The death of a war horse marked a significant event in the lives of many warriors because they regarded their mounts as fellow warriors. Sitting Bull’s graphic and powerful drawing of the death of Eagle Chief’s horse speaks to the emotional loss that warriors felt for their war horses. One of two Apsaalooke (Crow) warriors seen in the previous drawing appears ominously in the background of this drawing. (also see T0384)

Exhibition History"American Treasures from the Fenimore Art Museum," Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, February 20, 2004 - April 11, 2004.
ProvenanceAntiquities Dealer, Laguna Beach, California; Vincent Price, Beverly Hills, California; Malcolm 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.120.

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. 133.

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