Lot 67126: Rocky Boys Agency

CARL LINK (American, 1887-1968) Rocky Boys Agency, 1944 Pencil on paper 7-1/2 x 10 inches (19.1 x 25.4 cm) window Signed, titled, and dated lower right: Carl Link/ Rocky Boys Agency/ Box Elder/ Montana 1944 From the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum--proceeds from the sale of this items are restricted for use solely for the benefit of acquisitions to its permanent collection. Carl Link enjoyed a long and successful career as an artist, illustrator, designer for Broadway productions, commercial designer, and teacher. Born in Munich in 1887, Link immigrated to the United States in 1914. He supported himself for many years by teaching, designing costumes for theatrical productions, painting portraits, and providing illustrations for magazines. He frequently traveled with a sketch book and drew constantly, images of people on the street, animals at the Bronx Zoo, and studies of flowers and other plants. In 1916 he met Broadway entrepreneur, Morris Gest, who hired him to provide set designs for several productions. As an art student in Germany, Link met Winold Reiss and the two became lifelong friends. It was most likely through Reiss that Link developed an interest in Native American culture. He taught at Reiss' art institute in Glacier National Park and Lake Tahoe from 1936 to 1936. Those years established a lasting interest in both the American West and Native culture. He eventually bought a home at Lake Tahoe and frequently returned there to paint and teach. He remained active throughout his life in numerous professions including heading up the design division for Imperial Linens. He died at the age of 80 in 1968 in New York City. A man of many interests and talents, the wide diversity of his artistic subjects from the luminaries of the Broadway stage to members of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana, was testament to his creative imagination and prodigious artistic production.