203 Allan Houser 1914-1994 Smoke Signal Bronze, cast number 4/15 56 inches high, 34 inches wide Signed and dated 93 Estimate: $60,000 - 90,000 Exhibitions: 1993 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Prix de West. Winner of the Grand Purchase Prize. More realistic than many of his bronzes, Allan Houser’s Smoke Signal employs a combination of patinas to achieve its overall effect. Verdigris greens alternate with shades of evenly toned bronze to shape the young man’s body and garb, as well as the robe or blanket he uses to make smoke, the smoke itself, the fire, and the earth he stands on. The viewer’s eye moves around the work’s smooth Art Deco chiseling. Communicating with smoke was no easy task. The young man looks up, watching to see that his transmission is proper, and that it will be properly received at the other end. This, of course, is a metaphor for all artistic endeavor–the difficulty of mastering a medium, sending creations out into the world and wondering, hoping they will be well received.
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