SWAS: William Herbert Dunton

Crow Outlier, c. 1896? Oil.

William Herbert (Buck) Dunton was born in the state of Maine in 1878. His art schooling was conducted over decades. He attended both the Cowles Art School in Boston, Massachusetts and later the Art Students League in New York City. Mr Dunton, as a young man, earned his living primarily as an illustrator for both magazines and children's books.

In 1896 he made a trip to the Western United States, particularly Montana, and was enthralled by its landscape and people. He continued to live in the East, but he spent time each year traveling across the Mountain states. In 1914 he permanently relocated to Taos, New Mexico and earned his living primarily as a Western artist. During the Great Depression he turned to the painting of portraits as his primary source of income. In 1935 he was diagnosed with cancer and he died early in 1936.

Crow Outlier is an oil painting. It, like much of Dunton's Western art, has a rich texture with thick brush strokes and brilliant colors. It beautifully captures both the Western landscape and the solitary, ostracized Crow warrior. I have a print hanging on my wall and the rich and vibrant scene is always an amazement to me. It is purported to have been painted in 1896, but I have my doubts and believe it was painted much later, possibly in the second decade of the 20th Century.

If you would like a professional poster print of this painting please email me.