Images(2)

Mexican Sheep Herder

Artist Ernest Martin Hennings (American, 1886 - 1956)

Datec. 1925

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions45 1/4 x 50 inches (114.9 x 127 cm)
Frame: 49 1/2 × 54 1/2 × 2 inches (125.7 × 138.4 × 5.1 cm)

Credit LineBequest of H.J. Lutcher Stark, 1965

Object number31.32.28

ClassificationsPaintings

Label TextHennings portrayed an aspect of the Hispanic culture in Mexican Sheep Herder. The aged herder stands dominantly in the landscape on sunlit ground before a swath of green potential pasture and a dark brooding mountain. He makes an imposing figure interposed between the viewer and the flock of sheep he protects. His ragged jeans reveal a life of toil. One scholar has tentatively identified the subject as Jesus Duran, a “farm hand” who “works out.” Duran was possibly a partidario, a herder who had a contract with the sheep ranch owner for livestock leasing.

ProvenanceMrs. Ruby W. Schwab, Houston, Texas (care of Mrs. Doris Ann Conner, Conner's Flower Shop); purchased November 3, 1958 by H.J. Lutcher Stark; bequeathed September 2, 1965 to the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art

On View

On view