British School

British School
19th century
Man Shooting Another Man in Defense of a Fallen Comrade
Pen and blue ink with wash over graphite touched with white and orange chalk, on gray paper.
image: 10 5/16 x 7 3/4 inches (263 x 197 mm); on sheet: 11 3/4 x 9 inches (298 x 229 mm)
Bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987.
1986.2122
Notes: 

Drawing for an illustration for an unidentified work of popular fiction, probably dating from the first half of the 19th century; accompanies a sequence of three drawings depicting a fight over a card game (see 1986.2119-21) from the same work, all featuring two of the same protagonists.

Inscription: 

Numbered "23" in pencil at upper right.

Provenance: 
From the library of Gordon N. Ray.
Summary: 

Drawing shows a Black man shooting another man in the chest with a pistol, as a third man lies half sprawled on the ground at their feet, sword in hand. A man driving a covered wagon engages an attacker with a sword in the background, and in the foreground a small keg lies on the ground at right, spilling its content from a hole in its side.

Associated names: 

Ray, Gordon Norton, 1915-1986, former owner.

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