1884 Graphite Drawing of Pensive Native American by Adella Fanton

Sale price $50.00 Regular price $75.00

What I've learned about the Adella Fanton who signed this drawing in 1884 is that 

she was born in Danbury, MA in 1866, educated at Balmforth Avenue School (Danbury High School), and upon graduating in 1887 immediately made a 2nd grade teacher, becoming a much beloved and influential one. Apart from a short period in Ohio, Miss Fanton remained in Danbury until her death on August 30, 1976, at the age of 109!!!

So she would have been in high school when she drew this, which won me for the Thinker-like posture and empathetic, justifiably forlorn expression on the face of its protagonist as he rests on the barrel of his rifle. Surely done after a print or photograph, though I'd like the think the narrow framing was perhaps her own, expressing the sense of forced constriction facing Indigenous Americans just a few years before the signing of the Dawes Act in 1887. (I think her use of line for shading in texture is pretty good too.)

Framed: 19 1/2" t x 9 3/4". Drawing: 15 7/8" x 7". Sold in the simple wooden frame I found it in, which has a fair amount of age and I think suits it just fine. The drawing shows a little age toning but it and the frame are both in very good condition. Some glare, not flaws, in photos.