Howard Terpning (born 1927)


One Man's Castle signed, dated and inscribed '© / Terpning / 1980 CA' (lower right)oil on panel21 x 28inPainted in 1980.
|ProvenanceSale, Texas Art Gallery, Dallas, Texas, December 4, 1982.Acquired by the late owner from the above.ExhibitedTulsa, Oklahoma, Gilcrease Museum, Gilcrease Rendezvous 1985: Paintings by Howard Terpning, May 3-July 7, 1985.(probably) Indianapolis, Indiana, Eiteljorg Museum, Rediscovering the Old West: Cowboy Artists of America, August 26-October 29, 1995.LiteratureF.A. Myers, "An Interview with Howard Terpning: 1985 Gilcrease Rendezvous Painter," Gilcrease Magazine of American History and Art, vol. 7, no. 2, April 1985, p. 23, illustrated. E. Kelton, The Art of Howard Terpning, Trumbull, Connecticut, 1992, p. 77, illustrated.S.H. McGarry, Honoring The Western Tradition: The L.D. "Brink" Brinkman Collection, Kerrville, Texas, 2003, p. 162, illustrated.In a handwritten letter to L.D. Brinkman the artist writes about One Man's Castle: "This was an opportunity to offer a little humor. Many trappers and mountain men took Indian women as wives. The women performed all the same tasks that they would have performed had they stayed in their villages. They were nomads of course, and the lifestyle wasn't much different be it white husband or red. This is certainly a simple camp but comfortable as far as the man is concerned. They have shelter, meat drying, weapons and ponies. What more would one want."Terpning is of course having fun with the fact that the husband is the one resting, not the wife. The artist clearly enjoys portraying a slice of daily life as much as a more dramatic or historical scene. The bright light suggests a hot afternoon sun, undoubtedly chores were completed in the cooler morning hours. There is simplicity in the scene, but within it a tranquility and safety, at least for now.