Lot 197: Louis Akin (American, 1868-1913) Navajo watching field sports, 1903 15 x 30in

Navajo watching field sports, 1903
signed and dated 'Louis Akin 1903' (lower left)
oil on canvas
15 x 30in
overall: 20 1/2 x 35 1/2in

PROVENANCE:
George T. Nicholson, former Vice President and general passenger traffic manager of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, 1898-1913
By descent through the family to the current owners
Private collection, North Carolina

According to the current owners, and heirs of Mr. Nicholson, this work launched Louis Akin's relationship with the Santa Fe Railroad. On a family trip to the West, Mr. Nicholson's daughter spotted this painting and asked her father to buy it. Not only did he buy the painting, it sparked an idea to use the image to promote the railway. He asked Akin to do a more elaborate version, which can be found in Bruce E. Babbitt's book, Color and Light, The Southwest canvases of Louis Akin, page 13, entitled Navajos watching field sports, 1904. It is believed that these two works may be the only ones in which Akin painted Navajo Indians.