Henry F. Farny (1847-1916)

No American artist captured the frontier spirit and raw beauty of the West with the skill and precision of Henry Farny. Born in 1847 in Ribeauville, France, Henry Farny moved to the United States with his family at the age of six. Farny's fascination with the American Indian began soon after he and his family moved to America from France. Farny's mother, Jeanette, often gave medical treatment to the members of an Onandaigua tribe that lived near the family's home in Western Pennsylvania. While the Farnys soon moved to the more urban Cincinnati, where the artist spent most of his life, Farny kept with him a fondness and interest in the Indian culture. Farny was close to the sitter of the present work, a Sioux Indian named Ogallala Fire, and used him frequently as a model. Ogallala Fire was also the janitor for the Cincinnati Art Club and modeled for other artists including Joseph Henry Sharp.