Though France has produced many famous artists, one typically does not think of a French native devoting a distinguished artistic career to the depiction of Native Americans. But such was the case with François Henri Farny (later Anglicized to Henry Farny), who painted a proud picture of a Native American race that already was on the decline. Born in the Alsace region of France on July 15, 1847, Farny was the third child in a Protestant family that sought to escape an atmosphere of political turmoil and religious oppression.

Henry Farny

The Song of the Talking Wire (1904)
Oil
22″x40″
Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio

Henry Farny

Comanche (1903)
Gouache
9.5″x6.25″
Gouache on paper