Alexander Phimister ProctorAmerican, 1862–1950May one see it?
Washington, D.C., United States
The owner is known. Whether it is on view today, the museum does not say, and we were not trained to guess.
This romantic and retrospective scene was modeled on rodeo champion Jackson Sundown (1863--1923). Sundown had served with his uncle Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (sometimes called Chief Joseph), a leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain band of Nez Perce, defending their land and people against attacks by the U.S. Calvary. Sundown once escaped after being wounded in battle by adroitly riding off the side of his horse and eluding his pursuers. He made his living breeding and raising horses and riding rodeo, eventually working from a ranch in Idaho where he hosted Alexander Proctor as the sculptor worked on this composition.
Smithsonian American Art Museum