Herbert Michael Herget (Missouri, 1885-1950), Lakota Sioux war party, with individuals resembling Chief Sitting Bull and Red Cloud, oil on relined canvas, signed lower right

sight: 30 x 40 in., frame: 36 x 46 in.

Provenance: Property from a San Antonio, Texas collection

Herbert Herget studied at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts and apprenticed at Woodward & Tiernan Printing Company as an illustrator. He specialized in historically accurate illustrations and watercolors, focusing on American Indian scenes as well as ancient Greece, Rome, and Mesopotamia. In the 1930s and 1940s, he was commissioned by the National Geographic Society to produce detailed, research-based illustrations for their magazines. Herget also practiced wood carving, creating pieces inspired by Mayan and Aztec designs, and collected Native American arts and artifacts throughout his life. His work has been displayed in the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C., and many of his paintings are held in private collections.