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"Mustering the Horses" Painting by J. Howard Martin

Currency:USD Category:Western Americana / Art - Paintings Start Price:1,250.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 5,000.00 USD
 Mustering the Horses  Painting by J. Howard Martin
SOLD
3,100.00USD+ (620.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2016 May 14 @ 15:19UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Painting is 17" x 27.5", framed 26" x 36" by J. Howard Martin, 1853-1919. James Howard Martin is known by some as the quintessential Nevada desert artist. He roamed the desert and hills of Nevada prospecting and painting the scenes of his wanderings. There was poetic appeal to his lyrical type of painting which interpreted so well the tone of the desert, and the scenes which he painted at the time came to grace a number of Nevada homes. (Reno Gazette, circa 1915-19.) Martin once studied in Europe with Corot, among others. He taught art in Denver, then moved to Reno where he had a small office and studio in the downtown area. He was described by some as old and crotchety. At times fortune smiled on him and he sold a large number of his paintings. The money thus obtained, he put into mines and finally lost all. J. H. Martin shot himself to death at 7am on July 15 or16, 1919 in his studio. [There are conflicting reports of the date of death.] He was penniless and half starved, and died without a will. His estate was appraised at $5462 for 100 paintings. He had no next of kin and the state made a move to obtain the paintings. At the time of his death, a painting called the Village Blacksmiths was deemed the most valuable, appraised at $700. A Death Valley scene was appraised at $400. (8/14/1919 Reno Gazette). "Martin had been a character around Reno for the last ten years and earned a precarious living painting western scenes. His pictures of Death Valley, Lake Tahoe, and the deserts of Nevada, cattle and range scenes can be seen in many Reno homes and in his prime he had an enviable reputation for that kind of work ranking with Remington, according to art critics. He was also known as the Prospector Painter; spending his summers prospecting and wandering Nevada Hills" ( 7/16/19 Reno Evening Gazette). One of the newspaper articles discussed the fact that Martin died intestate and that the State was trying to obtain the nearly 100 paintings present at the time of death. It has long been surmised by collectors that the State did take these paintings through the escheating process, and that they had not since surfaced in any displays or exhibits. However, according to State records, by State law when the estate was escheated, the State could not simply take the paintings. Law dictated that the items be sold at auction. City: Reno State: Nevada Date: 1918 ID# 37430