Lot 203: The Hard Look

Jack Dumas (American, 1915-1998)
The Hard Look
signed 'Jack Dumas' (lower left)
oil on canvas
24 x 36 in. (61 x 91.4 cm.)

Purchased from the artist circa 1980, by descent to the present owner.

Dumas painted in a bold and realistic style with a keen eye for perspective and detail as is shown in this and the following lot. Fresh Tracks is typical of his compositions that capture situations of movement. After returning from serving in the Phillipines during World War II, he moved to the San Francisco area where he worked as an illustrator before focusing primarily on wildlife art. He was influenced by the works of the Western painter Harold Von Schmidt and by Bob Kuhn. A keen conservationist, he was also an expert fly fisherman and traveled extensively through the Northwestern states, Canada and Alaska. He was a member of the Society of Animal Artists and exhibited throughout the United States.