EXPLORERS IN THE SNOW

 

Bob Scriver's monumental group of Lewis and Clark, York and Seaman, the Newfoundland dog, has become a frequent subject for photographers in all weather.  The Great Falls Tribune, among others, loves to print them.

JEFF WOLF

Jeff Wolf is a Western bronze sculptor who copies Bob Scriver.  The big depiction of Indians on horses driving buffalo into a circle so they can be killed with arrows was originally an idea of Charlie Russell's.  It was based on the idea that the buffalo were about to separate and evade the hunters.  Bob Scriver did a piece called "Real Meat" in which the circle just kept going around.

It always struck me as an unlikely way to kill buffalo for meat.  The animals will stand and graze, not realizing there is danger even if other buffalo near them fall.  It's not as though arrows make noise.  The hunters told about disguising themselves in coyote or wolf hides and creeping up slowly.  Also, they would be silly to shoot down bulls, since the point is to get edible meat, not tough muscle.

When Ruth Beebe Hill was hanging around and asking Bob for technical information, she asked him exactly which ribs the hunters would shoot between, since someone had pointed out that hitting a rib would deflect the arrow.  Bob scoffed that in such a situation a rider would be lucky to stay on his horse and alongside the buff.  Actually, the thing to do was fire behind the ribs into the suppotsies (guts) far enough to make it bleed to death.  The women came along behind to process the carcasses, working in teams.

Ruth Beebe Hill never asked about women's things, like how does one cook buffalo or even how does one dry meat.  There are careful considerations to these things.

Anyway, I'll let you google Jeff Wolf and you can judge for yourself.

SCRIVER BRONZES ON DISPLAY IN FORT BENTON

This link is to a series of photos of sculptures depicting Blackft in Fort Benton at the gallery attached to the recreated fort. The season of tourists visiting is just beginning. https://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/1543 

These sculptures are in the care of the Montana Historical Society. There are more of this set, so they are rotated occasionally. They are the pieces that were in Edmonton for years.

https://www.visitmt.com/listings/general/landmark/old-fort-benton.html

HELENE DEVICQ

"Pieta" by Bob Scriver, still in plastilene here

This sculpture is formally called a "Pieta," belonging to a tradition of portrayals of Jesus newly taken down from the cross and Mary, his mother, grieving over his body.  It is one of a set of sculptures created around the death of Bob Scriver's daughter as a way of handling his grief.  The work is at the Montana Historical Society with the rest of his estate. 

The first sculpture in this cluster was a bust of Margaret in her last time before death.  She was told the name of it was "Prairie Daughter," but the real name was "To See Eternity".  The first version was shocking to others, because it was easier to see the emaciation and suffering in clay, so that he had to add revision.

The second was a corpus for a crucifix in the moments before Jesus' death, when he said, "Eloi Eloi lama Sabachthani" ("Father, Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?")  It was a commission from a customer who was wrestling with a terminal disease.  She gave permission to share the crucifix with others.

The third and fourth were portrait busts of Maurice Chaillot, who posed as Jesus.  One was as Jesus on the cross and the other was Maurice himself, who was a professor and artist in Canada.

There is also a portrait bust of Helene Devicq herself, but it is not part of this little set.  Helene and Maurice were the siblings of Jeannette Caoette, Bob's second wife.  She is wearing a wide-brimmed summer hat.

Helene was very beautiful in a petite Elizabeth Taylor way, and quite conscious of it.  She married Stan DeVicq, a well-known hockey star, and many years later a wealthy man whose name I don't know.  She was used to being a star and once mused sadly,  "I just don't have any clout anymore!"  Bob Scriver loved her always and tried to paint her portrait, without success.  The sculpture went better.

First came Bob's desire to be closer to his daughter, who was born to his first wife, Alice, and who after divorce had custody of the girl.  Even over distance she was closely bonded to her father.  Next was the surprise request for the crucifix.  Then the busts of Maurice in preparation for the crucifix and then the developing idea of a Pieta.  Bob had not seen Helene since the divorce from her sister.  After his divorce from me, he brought her back to Browning a few times and stayed close to her emotionally.  There is video he shot of her posing by his prized black Cadillac.  

There was no possibility that a woman like Helene would ever agree to a life in a little rez town with a husband who lived for work, far away from cultural events and the wearing of gowns.  When "Bronze Inside and Out" was written, several covers were proposed by the University of Calgary Press artist.  One showed Bob at work in his conventional mess of a workshop and Helene objected vehemently to the photo on grounds that it was demeaning.

Later, when the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton was marking a show of Scriver bronzes loaned by the Montana Historical Society, they organized a memorial dinner.  I was invited to attend but couldn't.  Anyway, I'd been divorced for a long time.  But I suggested that they invite Helene, who lived there in Edmonton and was key to his career.  They knew she was, well, "old" but I don't think they expected a movie star in fur on the arm of a young man.  The entrance had been decorated with larger-than life photo of Scriver and when Helene confronted it, she could not help bursting into tears.

For a woman meticulous in her self-maintenance, it is ironic that her death came from a neglected wound on her foot which became infected, then progressed to gangrene.  She had worn high heels all her life until the backs of her ankles would not permit her feet to be flat.  The idea of life-saving amputation was simply inconceivable.

An incident I sometimes pondered was when Scriver still had a tourist shop in a log cabin he built in St. Marys, the rez tourist town just south of the Canadian border.  Helene and Jeannette, who had been assigned to clerk, found the traffic slow, so they had laid out fabric and patterns on the countertop and with their clever deft hands they were beginning a sewing project.  In came Scriver, as horrified as though they had driven away the customers, and expressed his displeasure.  One can take this several ways.  The girls were allied in defying him behind his back (they hadn't expected him), they rather enjoyed being so important and making him react so violently, or it was a little drama in the war between the sexes.  The two of them together did not resist the wrath.

Jeannette had no children but Helene did, so in Jeannette's last days it was Helene's son who took hold of the situation and stood by Jeannette through her last nursing home days.  Ever since Morinville, the little French-Canadian Catholic church town half-an-hour north of Edmonton, this family had been tightly united around the father's barbershop/pool hall.  When Maurice was born late -- what is sometimes called a "menopause baby"-- his sisters were auxiliary mothers, and all energy went into educating this fine boy.  He did succeed in being an outstanding international person in the arts, but he never turned away from his fiery sisters even when they were nonsensical.

Scriver was close to this family for a while during WWII when he was stationed with the American Army Band in Edmonton.  They took him in hand as much as he consorted with them.  They had a lot of big ideas and told a lot of French-Canadian jokes.  His mother would have been horrified, which pleased him.  (She had grown up very English in a small Quebec town, and saw the French as a servant class, like "Indians."  Indeed, Indians in her times occasionally pretended to be French.)

It takes a village to make a famous sculptor and Helene DeVicq was part of that, in ways she didn't even know existed.  But walking into a major public event as though on a red carpet runner was one of the more memorable ways.  I hope there were photos.

SCRIVER BRONZE DONATION TO CUT BANK

Former resident donates valuable Robert Scriver bronze to local museum.

• BY LINDA BRUCH for the Cut Bank Pioneer Press
 
• Feb 23, 2006
 
•  

The word bronze can mean a couple different things. It can mean the color of your skin after basking in the summer sun. It might also be referring to the color of a medal received by a third place finisher in the Olympics. Then again, it could mean a fabulous sculpture created by Bob Scriver. It's the last definition Glacier County is excited about.

In December of last year, David Withers' sister, Pegge Dallum, made a decision to donate a fabulous bronze sculpture she had in her possession. She hadn't quite made up her mind where to donate the bronze, but she did have a couple ideas. One of the places she was thinking about was the C. M. Russell Museum in Great Falls. Dallum was just about ready to start the paperwork for the Great Falls museum, when another option came to mind.

What about donating it to Glacier County? After all, she used to live here and still has family ties in Cut Bank. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. This time when she started the paperwork, it was to donate the bronze to Glacier County.

The bronze is entitled “Too Late for the Hawken.” It depicts a fur trapper who has obviously been surprised by an Indian on horseback. The Indian, with his spear-like javelin in hand, is ready to impale the trapper. It is obvious the trapper, whose rifle is in plain site, will not be able to reach his weapon in time to save his life. The piece is magnificent and much like all the other creations designed by Scriver gives incredible attention to detail.

Scriver, a world-renowned sculptor, is credited for creating thousands of outstanding bronze sculptures. The pieces vary in size from tabletop to full-size and each one is remarkable in its own right.

Much like Dallum, Scriver had deep roots in Glacier County as well. He was born in Browning in 1914 and lived and worked there most of his life. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in music and for 17 years shared his love of music by teaching it.

In 1951, Scriver changed careers and became a taxidermist, opening up his own business in Browning. It wasn't long before his talents and abilities as a taxidermist made him well known throughout Montana. It was this foundation that ultimately led to his calling as a sculptor in 1956. For the next 34 years, Scriver would continue to sculpt, receiving worldwide fame for the fabulous pieces he shaped.

His life ended in 1999 at the age of 84, but his work is timeless and will continue to be shown in galleries, museums and exhibitions throughout North America. Scriver's work truly speaks for itself and explains why he has been called American's foremost living sculptor of the west.”

Too Late for the Hawken” has been certified at $15,000 by Cut Bank attorney Darrell Peterson. This is a pretty major piece,” said Peterson. He agreed Glacier County was lucky to have been the recipient of this fantastic piece of work. Peterson knows what he is talking about as both he and his office have a number of Scriver bronzes, making him a good authority on their worth and beauty.

Peterson said a number of Scriver pieces are currently on display at the Montana Historical Society Museum in Helena. With more Scriver pieces in storage than they currently have room to display they have begun preparations to construct a new showroom designated specifically to Scriver bronzes. It is estimated this exhibit will hold approximately 1,100 pieces crafted by Scriver.

If you didn't think Glacier County was fortunate to receive this generous gift before, here's betting you do now. Glacier County would like to offer a huge thank you to Pegge Dallum for this wonderful donation. It is proudly on display at the Glacier County Historical Museum.

MEDICINE MAN GALLERY AUCTION RESULTS

Bob Scriver (1914-1999)

"An Honest Try"  1968   Edition number 10   Bronze  

$10,500

This piece measures 32" x 27.5" x 19.5", with the base, it measures 2" x 14" x 20"

Awarded the 1970 gold medal winner in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Acquired from a private collection in Montana. 

"An Honest Try" Edition number 11 Sold at Dallas Fine Art Auction January 2011 for $17,930

https://medicinemangallery.com/medicine-man-gallery-antique-native-american-western-art-collections/arizona-sculpture-and-paintings-collection

Sue Resch: Pinterest Collection

https://www.pinterest.com/sue47resch/bob-scriver/\

This link should take you to a Pinterest collection of 14 photos of Scriver bronzes that were posted by Sue Resch.  I don't know anything about her, but they are good photos.