**First Time At Auction**

Delbert Buck (Navajo, b. 1976). Mixed media folk sculpture (cottonwood, fabric, wool, paper, leather, horse hair, and paint) n.d. Signature on underside. A hand-carved and hand-painted horse drawn cart sculpture by self-taught Navajo artist Delbert Buck. In addition to the cowboy and his lady, the pair of horses are transporting a portly pig and five chickens as well as a sign that reads "REZ 25 RODEO". The couple is dressed in traditional Western garb, and the cowboy holds the reins which are made from white suede. The horses are embellished with spotted coats, horse hair tails, and manes comprised of white wool. The other animals are skillfully carved from cottonwood and painted in vibrant hues. What a lively piece of folk art by Delbert Buck, a self-taught Navajo artist whose works have been collected by the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and other esteemed art institutions! Size: 19.125" L x 6" W x 8" H (48.6 cm x 15.2 cm x 20.3 cm)

Born in Shiprock, New Mexico, self-taught Navajo folk artist Delbert Buck began creating art at age nine. At age 12, Buck began created sculpture from found objects, and at age 14 he was represented by a gallery.

More about the artist: "Delbert got a young start as a folk artist. He began making sculpture from found objects at age twelve and was represented in a gallery by the time he was fourteen. It was in 1988 that Delbert's father Wilford Buck introduced his son to trader Jack Beasley, of the Four Corners area. With his father handling the boy's art business, Delbert says he didn't even know the value of money until he was in in his teens.

He assembles constructions from found objects and cottonwood limbs, then roughly carves and paints them. His first carvings were the toy guns and the small wooden horses he and his brothers used to make. His inspirations are many.

First there were the comic books that encouraged him to think it possible for a sheep to drive a car. As he aged, he drew on personal experiences, such as his rodeo bull riding, the colorful chaps he wore in rodeos, and his trips in a single engine airplane, to inspire his sculpture.

Delbert's art is humorous and even satiric. His cowgirls and cowboys ride be-speckled skunks, buffaloes, propeller planes, rocking horses, or giraffes, with a goat in chaps and hat, or maybe a monkey or dog, riding behind. A wagon filled with pigs, Dalmatians, or chickens is pulled by a booted pig or an oxen-sized dog. It might take Delbert three to four weeks to complete one of his larger pieces.

All of his carving is by hand. He uses acrylic paint and a wide variety of found materials. Paper, fabric, yarn, and wool all find their way into his work. He even sews the clothing on his figures, as taught by his mother…" (Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian)

Delbert Buck's sculptures have been collected by the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and other esteemed art institutions.

Delbert Buck has modestly stated, "I'm just an ordinary guy. I'm surprised how people have responded and that I can make a living from my carving." The art world has certainly received Buck favorably, and we agree with their assessment wholeheartedly!

Provenance: private Goldstein collection, Denver, Colorado, USA. The Goldstein's have amassed their collection over the past six decades.

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#177127

Signed on underside of horse. Slight surface wear, otherwise excellent. Possible that the rodeo sign may have been attached at one point; it currently sits in the cart.