Fine Western Art Collections
West Lives On Gallery
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Edward Borein
1872 - 1945 |
Edward
Borein was born in San
Leandro, California in
1872. He began
sketching and painting
at a very early
age. At 17, he
became a saddle maker
and continued on with
the life as a
cowboy. He
documented everyday
Cowboy life. He
wanted to paint and draw
it as it was. He
didn't take any artistic
liberty.
What
sets Edward Borein
apart from other Western
artists is the fact that
he never took artist’s
license to enhance or
over-dramatize his
pictures. Borein
recorded what he saw.
Important to him was
recording accurately
every detail of the
horses, cattle, and
gear. In his own words,
"I will leave only an
accurate history of the
West, nothing else but
that. If anything isn’t
authentic or just right,
I won’t put it in any of
my work."
Edward Borein rarely
used a model. This
traces back to the years
in the saddle, when it
would have been
impossible to stop and
sketch the things he had
seen. He developed a
phenomenal memory, and
no detail was too minute
or unimportant for him.
When he set out to make
a sketch or even to
complete a picture, it
was drawn or painted
entirely from memory. It
is this freedom from the
hampering effect of
copying that is so
apparent in the free
style of his work.
Harold McCracken,
foremost expert in the
field of Western
American art, considered
Edward Borein as one of
the most important of
those who portrayed the
old-time cowboys and the
traditional Indians of
the American West. In
his words: "Like Charlie
Russell in so many
respects, Borein’s
ability as an artist was
a natural one and by
natural desire he
developed the talent to
a remarkable degree,
while working as a
cowboy…Borein became a
master draftsman and he
was highly skilled in
the handling of
watercolors. Some of his
classic ink drawings are
equal to the best done
by any Western artist…"
Many art historians rank
Edward Borein right up
there with Charlie
Russell. Both were
excellent artists, both
painted from life’s
intimate experiences and
observations, and both
achieved some degree of
success during their
lifetimes.
For Borein, the old West
was rapidly changing.
The open ranges of the
early cattlemen were
being enclosed with
barbed wire. The vast
herds of buffalo had
largely disappeared. The
Indian had lost access
to his hunting grounds
and had been forced to
settle on reservations.
Ed felt these changes
and, developed an
insatiable desire to
record the disappearing
features and character
of the early West. Ed
was offended with all
the romanticized stories
that had been written,
and by the inaccurate
pictures that were being
offered as representing
the "true" Western
scene. Edward Borein,
who died in 1945, was
one of the last painters
to capture the old West
from personal
observation.
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"Bell Mare"
etching
• 10" x 12"
SOLD |
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