Lot 12
Mary Mendenhall Gray(1888-1969)Native American Mother and Child 34 x 30 in. framed 39 1/4 x 35 1/4 in.
7 November 2023, 13:00 PST
Los AngelesSold for US$7,680 inc. premium
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Mary Mendenhall Gray (1888-1969)
Native American Mother and Child
signed and dated 'Gray '26' (lower right)
oil on canvas
34 x 30 in.
framed 39 1/4 x 35 1/4 in.
signed and dated 'Gray '26' (lower right)
oil on canvas
34 x 30 in.
framed 39 1/4 x 35 1/4 in.
Footnotes
Provenance
Private collection, Utah.
Philadelphia born, Mary Chilton Mendenhall Gray grew up in Indianapolis and studied at the Herron School of Art for nearly a decade starting in 1902 when she was just 13 years old. Gray was active in the Indianapolis artist community and exhibited at the Hoosier Salon in the early 1930s. Around this same prime period, she spent a decade away from Indiana and lived and worked in the artist colony in Taos, New Mexico interacting with artists including Nicolai Fechin and Georgia O'Keeffe. The present and following paintings were likely painted in New Mexico.
Later in her career, Gray lived in Denver and worked as a muralist and book illustrator for two museums, the Colorado Museum of Natural History and the Denver Art Museum.
In the present and following portraits, Gray's inherent talent and sensitivity to her subjects can be seen in her choice to depict real women paused in quotidian moments. The double portrait of a Native American mother holding her blanket-wrapped infant, and the depiction of White Wolf beading a moccasin are set in similar tipi interiors. In each work, Gray focuses on the unique likenesses of the sitters' faces and hands, and includes rich details of dress and jewelry.