Beschreibung:

Lot includes book, painting, photograph of Bullchild signing the book, as well as several pages of description courtesy of the consignor. untitled signed lower right in pictograph 24 x 20 in. 1984 Bullchild, Percy. The Sun Came Down: The History of the World as My Blackfeet Elders Told It. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985. In a document explaining the significance of the painting and the book, Bullchild's daughter-in-law writes: "I married Lyman Bullchild in 1981. His father was Percy Bullchild, author of The Sun Came Down. Percy was the son of George Bullchild and grandson of Bulllchild, a powerful Blackfeet healer and medicine man. Percy first married Marie White Calf, granddaughter of White Calf, last head chief of all four bands of the Blackfeet or Piegan in Montana and Canada. They had 5 children, of which Lyman was the oldest son. Marie died and Percy married Rose WeaselTail. Percy asked Lyman and myself to live with them as they moved onto the Blackfeet Reservation to stay near the grave of grandson, Bobby, in 1982. We lived together in a 2 bedroom trailer with no running water on a remote ranch about 7 miles from town... After several years, other relatives would come and stay for awhile, but Percy and Rose and Lyman and I grew very close. Blackfeet was spoken in the home. Percy finished his manuscript for The Sun Came Down. In 1984, he asked me to type a final copy to submit to Harper and Row, now Harper Collins. He teased me that I was his personal secretary. In the meantime, Lyman told me about Percy's artwork since I loved to paint with acrylics. Percy was illustrating his book and had done traditional items for museums... I was amused that an old man like Percy could paint with acrylics, so when he asked me how he should pay me for typing the manuscript, I asked him to paint me a picture. He immediately agreed, but was in haste to get it done before he [traveled] to submit the manuscript to the publisher. He used my paints and brushes. Since we had no money, he took an unfinished canvas of mine, turned it over and painted the picture for me. Looking back, I realize Percy knew his final years were numbered with his heart conditions and wanted to make sure he finished my gift. He told me is was the only painting he did as a gift, that it was very special... The accompanying copy of The Sun Came Down: The History of the World as My Blackfeet Elders Told It is one of the first five copies of the book Percy received and signed with his traditional pictograph signature. It includes an original photograph of Percy writing the signature at his kitchen table in the home we shared on Cut Bank Creek on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana... Percy Bullchild was a powerful wonderful man. He was a legend, a man who lived in modern times but fully experienced in ancient Blackfeet traditions and culture. He was diligent about respect. He was kind and generous. I know he would bless my efforts and the new owners of these precious items." Also included is a description of the symbolism in the painting. "The buffalo represents the spiritual power of the Percy's grandfather, Bull Child, a known healer and medicine man. The painting shows an eagle representing Chiefdom over the entire nation of the four bands of Pikuni of White Calf, grandfather of Percy's wife, Marie, mother of my late husband, Lyman. On the left horizon is the outline of the Sweet Grass Hills, sacred to the Blackfeet and explained in the book. The blue sky represents the Big Sky of Montana and the dry earth represents the Plains and harsh environment the US Government named as the Blackfeet Reservation. The calf shows the future, the family enduring all dangers and surviving many threats. The Head Chiefdom of White Calf was broken by the US Canadian border and given to tribal elections. The spirituality of BullChild was denied by European influences. I believe Percy showed great hope in this one of a kind piece. Percy signed the painting in the lower right