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Wild West Wonders: May Collector's Auction Event

Sat, May 18, 2024 11:00AM EDT
  2024-05-18 11:00:00 2024-05-18 11:00:00 America/New_York North American Auction Company North American Auction Company : Wild West Wonders: May Collector's Auction Event https://live.naabid.com/auctions/north-american-auction/wild-west-wonders-may-collectors-auction-event-15617
Join us for our next premier auction event, the Wild West Wonders May Auction. The sale includes 100's of rarities from the West, Native Americans, American history, and more. Join us on May 18th at 9am Mountain Time.
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Lot 662

Winold Reiss Great Northern RR Calling First 1940

Estimate: $150 - $300
Starting Bid
$50

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
Featured in this lot is this Winold Reiss Great Northern Railroad framed calendar topper of Blackfeet Tribe member Calling First circa 1940. F. Winold Reiss was a German-born American artist and graphic designer. In 1920 he went West for the first time, working for months on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, painting 36 portraits of tribal members. Over the years Reiss painted more than 250 works depicting Native Americans. Similar paintings by Reiss became known more widely beginning in the 1920 and to the 1950s, when the Great Northern Railway commissioned Reiss to do paintings of the Blackfeet which were then distributed widely as lithographed reproductions on Great Northern calendars. The calendar topper depicts Calling First wearing a tanned hide shirt with geometric designs on the left and right side coming down from the shoulders. He is sitting crisscross on the ground and is beating a drum stick against a large drum. The bottom reads, "Winold Reiss / ©1940 Great Northern RY. St. Paul, U.S.A." in small black lettering. The piece is set in a light colored wood frame. The art and frame show good condition overall with slight wear from its age and use over the years. No signs of obvious damage are present. The visible art measures 19 15/16" L x 12 9/16", while the entire piece measures 21 1/2" L x 14 1/4" W x 7/8" D. It weighs 2 pounds and 14 ounces.