Lot 51
Martin Grelle(born 1954)Challenge 16 x 12in framed 23 x 19in
26 February 2021, 13:00 PST
Los AngelesUS$20,000 - US$30,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our California Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Aaron Bastian
Director
Kathy Wong
Senior Director, Fine Art
Martin Grelle (born 1954)
Challenge
signed and dated 'Martin Grelle CA / © '03 CA' (lower right), signed, dated and with copyright again (on the reverse), titled (on the reverse)
acrylic and oil on canvas
16 x 12in
framed 23 x 19in
Painted in 2003.
signed and dated 'Martin Grelle CA / © '03 CA' (lower right), signed, dated and with copyright again (on the reverse), titled (on the reverse)
acrylic and oil on canvas
16 x 12in
framed 23 x 19in
Painted in 2003.
Footnotes
Provenance
The artist.
Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale, February 1 - March 2, 2003.
The collection of Joseph Thomas Alvarez III, Rancho Santa Fe, California; acquired from the above.
Cowboy Artists of America painter Martin Grelle "often refers to his historic paintings as 'period pieces'. In them, he depicts small slices of Western and Native American history, which he has carefully researched to make sure that each detail is authentic, both literally and spiritually. For Grelle, the research leads directly to telling a story on canvas." 1
In Challenge, Grelle captures a single mounted warrior poised and prepared to engage with an adversary outside the painting's composition. Richly detailed Plains Indian decoration is on display in the figure's dress and adornments. The warrior holds a decorated war shield, intentionally small so as not to limit his range of motion when battling on horseback, and wears feather hair ornaments, bead and quill necklaces and bead-decorated buckskin leggings. The figure's feather decorated spear is aggressively thrust over his head, and his black face paint indicates that he is prepared for war, and that he is a powerful warrior who has proven himself already in battle. The warrior and horse are perfectly synchronized as they make a dramatic turn toward battle, a plume of dust kicked up by the horse enhances the action and movement of the scene. A related acrylic and charcoal drawing on paper from 2003 titled The Challenge was in The Eddie Basha Collection and sold through Bonhams in November 2019.
Interested in art from a young age, Grelle met Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) artists James Boren and Melvin Warren in high school because they lived and worked in his hometown. Boren, in particular, was a strong influence and mentor to the young artist, and instrumental in helping him mount his first one-man show at a local gallery shortly after graduating from high school, in 1973. In 1995, Grelle became a member of the CAA, and that same year he was asked to participate in the first Prix de West Invitational at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
In his over 40-year career, Grelle has exhibited widely in galleries and at important Western art shows, and has had 30 one-man exhibitions. He was awarded the Prix de West Purchase Award and the Nona Jean Hulsey Rumsey Buyers' Choice Award each twice, the CA People's Choice Award in 2002, the CA Ray Swanson Award in 2008, the CA Buyer's Choice Award in 2011 and 2012, the CA Silver Award for Water Solubles in 2012, and many others. Grelle actively participates in major invitational exhibitions as well, including The Masters at the Autry Museum and the Quest for the West at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. He was awarded the Legacy Award for his impact on western art by The Briscoe Museum, San Antonio in 2012, and had a retrospective of his work, along with Cowboy Artist Herb Mignery, at the Gilcrease Museum's Rendezvous Show in 2013.
Grelle regularly teaches workshops (with fellow Cowboy Artist Bruce Greene) and gives demonstrations and critiques to aspiring art students. He served on the board of directors for the CAA twice, was President 2014-2015, and was Chairman of CAA 50th Anniversary Events during 2015. Grelle is also involved with The Joe Beeler Foundation, founded by the CAA to coincide with their mentoring program, which provides scholarship opportunities for artists seeking to improve their skills.
1 M. Duty, Cowboy Artists of America, Shelton, The Greenwich Workshop, 2002, p. 50.
