Michael Gentry - The Vision of Sitting Bull 1992 30" x 48"

Michael Gentry (American, 1940-1994)
The Vision of Sitting Bull, 1992

Oil on canvas
Canvas: 30” x 48”
Frame: 41.5” x 60”
Signed and Dated with Artist’s Device Lower Right: ‘Michael Gentry / © ’92 / WAA UBAA’

In March of 1876, the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes join together to participate in the Sun Dance ritual. Led by Sitting bull, they offer prayers to the Great Spirit—Wakáŋ Táŋka—to aid them as federal troops move into their area. In this ceremony, Sitting Bull has a vision of soldiers falling into their camp like grasshoppers from the sky. In June, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong and all of the men under his command enter their valley and are killed. Despite continued success for the Sioux against the United States, their reliance on buffalo—whose population was quickly decreasing due to white encroachment—meant the Sioux were forced to move North and eventually surrender.

This painting captures the determination and comradery of a group of people faced with persistent persecution. Pictured gathered around Sitting Bull, it offers the viewer a glimpse of the respect and admiration held towards him. Sitting Bull’s outstretched arms invite us into the scene, inviting us to listen as he conveys the vision he has just seen.

Provenance:
Property from the Estate of Jane Ecclestone Chapin, Napa Valley, California and Palm Beach, Florida
Bonhams California, Western Art, Los Angeles, California, November 07, 2023, Lot#108
Private Collection, Utah