Edward Kemeys (1843-1907)

Edward Kemeys first became interested in sculpture at the Central Park Zoo, where he happened to observe an artist modeling animals while working there as a civil engineer. Inspired, he traveled to the West in the late 1870s, studying and modeling from nature. His work was exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876, and in 1892 he opened a studio in Chicago. Throughout his life, he continued to take trips out West to find subject matter for his art.

The present sculpture was modeled in 1884. Although unmarked by a foundry, it was likely cast by Winslow Bros. Company, Chicago, Illinois. Other examples are in the collections of the Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Corning, New York; Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine.