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| Lame Deer Greasy Grass, 1998, Oil on French Linen |
Neuman was born in the small, northern Idaho mining town of
Kellogg in 1926. After
returning from the Air Force after World War II, Neuman became aware that much
of American history had taken place in the Northwest, with key figures such as
Lewis and Clark, Chief Joseph and Sitting Bull. Neuman says, “As I matured as
an artist, I came to the conclusion that no one had related to the Western
landscape of this country using the abstract visual language.” Using his
intimate experiences (both literal and visually), Neuman started to create the Lame Deer Series with contemporary
visual language that pays homage to the plight of the Native American people of
the Great Plains. Neuman titled the works Big
Eagle, Yellow Tail, Greasy Grass, and
Shoshone highlighting historic
chiefs, battle sites and tribes.
The Lame Deer
Series, started in 1978, was conceived during the artist’s visit to the
Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservation in Lame Deer, Montana, named for a
mystic and medicine man. The paintings also recall Mr. Neuman’s Western
heritage as a native of Idaho who spent time fishing and hunting in Montana. Reviewing
the Lame Deer Series, art critic
Robert Taylor wrote in the Boston Globe (March 25, 1979): “Neuman’s pictures
fuse the methods of color field paintings, emblematic abstractions and
expressionist responses and, at their best as in this series, are evocative and
original.” Featuring bold, abstract tipi shapes, vast skylines and striking
imagery, the Lame Deer Series is one
of Neuman’s most personal series and one that he continues to work on to this
day.
Robert S. Neuman: Lame Deer Series, February 23-May 18 2014
http://www.artcomplex.org/
