Henry Farny

Henry Farny painted Native American life on the Northern Plains, usually in quiet, contemplative scenes: hunters on the lookout, camps at dusk, riders crossing wide empty country. His pictures are small, carefully drawn and softly coloured, more thoughtful than dramatic.

He was born in Ribeauvillé, Alsace, in 1847 and moved to the United States as a child, growing up in Cincinnati. He studied in Düsseldorf, where Albert Bierstadt was one of his guides, and from 1881 made trips up the Missouri River to sketch and collect material. His best known pictures include The Song of the Talking Wire. He died in Cincinnati in 1916, and the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Taft Museum of Art hold important groups of his work.

A Moment of Suspense and Among the Foothills show his calm, observant approach.