The Warning by western artist Howard Terpning

The Warning by western artist Howard Terpning.

 

Here a Blackfeet party encounters a Crow lance, dressed in war medicine and firmly planted in the ground as a warning that if they proceed they are in for a fight. The arms they carry and the paint on their faces suggest that they are of a mind to accept the challenge. The Blackfeet were never shy about confronting whoever had something they wanted, or wanted something the Blackfeet had.

 

The artist explains that he was intrigued by the luxurious growth of a cool yellow-green grass he found in Yellowstone National Park and the way it disappeared against the edge of the dark forest. A key element is the white face of the pinto horse, which seems to extend out of the canvas and gives the painting a three-dimensional effect. (The Art of Howard Terpning - Elmer Kelton).

 

Print released 1985