Lot 115: Peter Rindisbacher 1806 - 1834 , Hunting the Bison Watercolor, pen and ink on laid paper watermarked J Whatman

Signed P. Rindisbacher and dated 1825 (lower right); inscribed Hunting the Buffalo (lower center) ; also inscribed Captain R.P. Pelly Cheltenham , verso, in another hand Watercolor, pen and ink on laid paper watermarked J Whatman

measurements image size: 8 3/4 by 14 1/4 inches 22.2 by 36.2 cm. alternate measurements sheet size: 10 1/2 by 16 in. 26.7 by 40.6 cm

Zaplin Lampert Gallery, Santa Fe

Peter Rindisbacher moved from Switzerland with his family when he was 15 years old to the Red River Colony near present day Winnipeg in 1821. He found employment with the Hudson's Bay Company, the effective controller of the area and started selling his watercolors to supplement his salary. Already noticed as an artistic prodigy in Switzerland, his depictions of Indians became an immediate sensation and much in demand. However, a great flood in 1826 decimated the farms of the Red River Colony and many of the settlers including the Rindisbachers left for Wisconsin. The family then moved to St. Louis in 1829 where Rindisbacher continued as an artist but would die at 28 of cholera. While in Canada he produced the earliest drawn body of work to record the appearances and daily lives of the Western Plains Indians, preceding George Catlin whose first trip took place from 1830-1836. This watercolor is dated 1825. It is inscribed on the back with the name of Robert Parker Pelly who was the Governor of the Red River Colony in that year.