Harry Jackson "The Marshal" Bronze Sculpture

Lot description

Harry Andrew Jackson (American, 1924-2011). Large painted bronze sculpture titled "The Marshal," 1980-81. Depicting a cowboy clad in Western attire, comprising a hat, neckerchief, and chaps, mounted on a horse portrayed mid-stride, a strong sense of momentum and pursuit. The rider leans forward in the saddle, raising a rifle in his right hand. Incised with the artist's signature, date, title, and edition number "9P" along the base of the sculpture; further signed and dated in the paint. Bearing a "WFS Italy" foundry mark along the base. With a very large pink and white marble plinth. The work was originally commissioned for the cover of the August 8, 1969, issue of Time magazine and portrays John Wayne in his iconic role as Rooster Cogburn from the film "True Grit" (dir. Henry Hathaway, 1969). For a similar style example, see: Harry Jackson "The Marshal (John Wayne As Rooster Cogburn)," Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, object no. 1986.403. Lot Essay: Born Harry Aaron Shapiro Jr. in Chicago, Harry Jackson showed remarkable artistic ability early, earning a scholarship to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago at a young age. At eighteen he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served in the Central Pacific during World War II, receiving two Purple Hearts before becoming the youngest official Marine Corps combat artist. After the war Jackson moved to New York and entered the burgeoning circle of Abstract Expressionism, associating with artists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. His 1952 debut at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery drew high praise from critic Clement Greenberg. Yet Jackson soon turned away from abstraction, traveling to Italy to study Renaissance technique and ultimately committing himself to sculpture. In Camaiore, he established a working foundry, studying lost-wax casting and developing his distinctive polychrome patinas. Jackson's bronzes were later commissioned and displayed by Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and his work entered major collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.