192

W. Herbert Dunton (1878-1936), The Stagecoach Robbery, 1909
Dimensions: 21 x 33
Framed/base Dimensions: 30 x 42 x 3 1/2
Signature: signed and dated lower right: W. Herbert Dunton '09

oil on canvas
21 x 33 in.

  • Provenance: Stephen V. O'Meara Inc., Scottsdale, AZ
    From the Estate of H.B. Turner
  • Literature: Julie Schimmel, The Art and Life of W. Herbert Dunton, 1878-1936, University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, 1984, p. 209 (possibly)
  • Notes:

    Herbert Dunton's work as a cowboy and hunter in the American West, from Montana to Mexico, lent authenticity to his illustrations for Western stories. He sketched in the West during the summer then turned them into illustrations in his Eastern studios.

    By 1906 Dunton began illustrating for magazines—Cosmopolitan Magazine, Harper's, and Scribner's—as well as books by Harold Bindloss, Zane Grey, Alfred Henry Lewis, and others. Paintings en grisaille (in grays), such as “The Stagecoach Robbery,” typify many of Dunton's illustrations before 1915. Reproducing color illustrations accurately remained a challenge for publishers until about 1910. Therefore, grisaille illustrations in books and magazines remained the standard and were far less expensive to reproduce.

    Like all artists throughout history, Dunton turned to a recognized master for motivation and possible solutions to problems. Thus, Dunton’s “Stagecoach Robbery” is a retelling of Charles M. Russell’s 1899 The Hold-Up. In a letter to Texas artist H. D. Bugbee (1900-1963), Dunton wrote of Russell, who died on October 24, 1926: "I suppose you know Charlie Russell was gone. I can not believe it. He was a good friend." Noted as Russell’s artist-friend in an early Russell biography, another scholar posited that Dunton "idolized Russell" and Russell "returned the compliment, taking an active interest in his young admirer's progress and regarding him as a close and trusted friend." While Dunton rarely emulated his pard’s work, in “The Stagecoach Robbery” Dunton turned to his own Montana experiences in the 1890s and to Russell for inspiration.

    The orientation of the stagecoach and the “players” echoes Russell’s The Hold-Up. Both paintings portray a stage coach driver with hands raised; frightened female passengers; a gambler in a top hat; and one of the robbers rifling through pockets of the victims. However, Dunton’s setting is not the Miles City-to-Deadwood line but instead the deserts near El Paso or in Arizona (perhaps a Butterfield stage?). Likewise, all but one robber in Dunton’s painting are mounted, while all of Russell’s are afoot.

    The biggest difference between the two paintings is the main antagonist: instead of real-life robber and murderer “Big Nose” George Parrott—who terrorized Wyoming, the Dakotas, and eastern Montana territories in the 1870s—standing and leveling his shotgun at his wretched victims in Russell’s The Hold-Up, Dunton’s anonymous mounted bad man levels his Colt revolver, freshly pulled from his Mexican double-loop holster, while the robber at left aims his rifle a la “Big Nose George.” (Dunton may even have included George’s grey horse at extreme left). Dunton also included a hapless mustachioed possible lawman, with his inconveniently positioned cartridge belt and holster.

    Ironically, all three robbers in Dunton’s painting wear checkered wool “California pants” with reinforced leather seats, favored by Montana cowboys; perhaps a subtle reference to the Big Sky State. Moreover, the rifleman at left sports a Montana peak hat, but the other thieves do not.

    Both artists in their respective stagecoach robbery paintings “involve[d] us in whatever drama is ostensibly the picture’s subject and to elicit our identification with those who helplessly watch.” This theatricality would later serve Dunton well in his mature work in Taos.

    Dunton painted a number of stagecoach scenes during his career. However, he typically depicted lawmen inspecting a coach; the arrival of a stage in town; or stage drivers and guards doing their duty. Dunton’s “Stagecoach Robbery” is a rare example of him portraying outlaws.

    This painting will be included in the forthcoming Dunton catalogue raisonné being compiled by Michael Grauer. We are grateful to him for writing this essay.

  • Condition: The painting appears to be in very good condition. There is scattered faint craquelure - the paint layer is very stable and the canvas nicely taut. The painting was viewed under blacklight and reveals a 3/4 inch by 1 inch line of inpainting at top center and dots of inpainting running vertically down the right side 3/4 inch from the frame edge. The frame appears to be in good condition with miter splits.

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