Robert McMurtry "Popeye's Cafe" 
- Sold Winning Bid: $725.00
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- High Bidder: tke1011
Robert McMurtry "Popeye's Cafe"
Original Acrylic On Canvas
Signed Lower Left
Dated 1997
Artist Biography:
Robert McMurtry (Comanche, 1950-2012)
Robert, nicknamed Robby or Robbie, was a native artist of Comanche descent whose work primarily focuses on Native American subject matter. McMurtry worked in pencil, acrylic, mixed-media, and comic book style. McMurtry grew up in Loco, Oklahoma
He began attending college in Chickasaw, Oklahoma but flunked out as an art major as the college almost exclusively supported abstract art. In college, McMurtry found a strong Native community and later in life would collaborate with the other artists he met during this time. McMurtry’s art predominantly focuses on pairing Native American stories with art. Inspired by his childhood obsession with comic books, he created several books featuring Native characters such as The Road to Medicine Lodge: Jesse Chisholm in the Indian Nations and Native Heart: The Life and Times of Ned Christie, Cherokee Patriot and Renegade.
He won a variety of awards including the Redbud award in 2011 from the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association for an exhibition at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center. In 1978, he was the Cherokee Nation's artist in residence. His work "Unarmed" is a part of the Gilcrease Museum's permanent collection and was donated in 2004. He was also a part of a team which built a permanent art installation, named "The Passage" at the Tennessee River Landing in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was a major starting point for the Trail of Tears. McMurtry designed seven sculptures of stickball players as part of his contribution.
McMurtry was killed on August 1, 2012 after he was shot by police deputies at his home in Morris, Oklahoma. Two years after his death, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum held an exhibition of McMurtry’s works.
Condition:
Good, See Photos
Size:
30" X 40"