Winslow Homer (1836-1910)

David Pharoah, The Last of the Montauks

Details

Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
David Pharoah, The Last of the Montauks
signed and dated 'Winslow Homer/East Hampton/July 21st 1874' (lower right)
watercolor, gouache and charcoal on paper
11½ x 10 in. (29.2 x 25.4 cm.)

Provenance

Elizabeth T. Agnew, New York, by 1930.
Harry W. Forbes, New York, acquired from the above.
Private collection, by descent.
[With]Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York, 2006.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Literature

W.M. Laffan, E. Strahan, "The Club at Play," Scribner's Monthly, vol. 17, February 1879, pp. 475-78.
G. Hendricks, The Life and Work of Winslow Homer, New York, 1979, pp. 107, 113, fig. 169, illustrated.
P.H. Wood, K.C.C. Dalton, Winslow Homer's Images of Blacks: The Civil War and Reconstruction, exhibition catalogue, Houston, Texas, 1988, p. 133.
G. Stone, History and Archaeology of Montauk, Stony Brook, New York, 1993, p. 303.
J.A. Strong, The Montaukett Indians of Eastern Long Island, Syracuse, New York, 2001, p. 151n3.
L. Goodrich, A.B. Gerdts, Record of Works by Winslow Homer: 1867 Through 1876, vol. II, New York, 2005, pp. 306-07, no. 525, illustrated.

Lot Essay

The Pharoah clan was the ruling family of the Montauk tribe on Long Island. David Pharoah (1835-1878) was elected chief in 1870 and famously fought for the tribe's rights to land and schooling in the state and federal courts. His ability to effectively serve as both religious and political leader to his people must have impressed Winslow Homer on his visit to Montauk in 1874, inspiring him to create the present work.

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