Henry Farny: The Changing West

"The Song of the Talking Wire" by Henry Farny

"Most of his life Farny remained a bachelor, not marrying until 1906. Over the decades he employed a number of men, usually the down and out, to assist him in the studio and in the field. Farny referred to them as his 'secretaries' - 'old man Bee or Hennessey and others - but they served as Farny's models as well. The most prominent of these secretaries was known to Farny's artist friends as 'Ogallala Fire,' also called Joe. He had been a participant in the Battle of Little Big Horn; it was he who posed for the canvas 'The Last of His Race.' Indignant over the treatment of Indians and generally sympathetic toward those in need, Farny helped Indians whenever he could.  

Throughout his career, Farny used symbolism to show the effects of white civilization on the Indians. 'New Territory' depicts a family of Indians on the move who pause to look at the wagon tracks crossing their path. The Indians' faces reflect attitudes of curiosity, bewilderment, and consternation at this new phenomenon, and even the horse gazes with interest at the tracks, indicating the coming of the white man and the imminent breakdown of the Indian lifestyle. Similar to this theme, Farny also used the railroad as representative of the vanishing frontier, for which he and many people of his time already felt nostalgia. In 1910, when asked whether he would ever return to the West, the artist said: 'It breaks my heart to see the prairies cut up with barbed wire, and to see the once noble Red Man debauching himself with fire water on the reservations. The golden West isn't what it used to be.' 

In 1894 Farny took his last journey West. He left Cincinnati by train for Indian Territory meeting up with General Nelson Miles, who was responsible for Geronimo's capture. He had invited Farny to join him on an inspection tour of the reservation where Kiowa and Comanches were settled, as well as about two-hundred Apaches including Geronimo. Farny sketched Geronimo and used the sketch as a basis for several later paintings. While on the reservation, he watched a ghost dance the Indians held in honor of General Miles. Other than this last trip, Farny remained primarily in Cincinnati for the rest of his life, frequently exhibiting his work there."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Henry Farny" by Denny Carter.)