It is Ernest Blumenschein who can be given the credit for getting Mr. Dunton to this environment. There are several varieties of sage and cactus for backgrounds, according to the elevation that you choose. He missed the company of heroic figures or men of pure intent that he assumed had occupied the real West, but certainly inhabited the mythic West. Yesterday' was Dunton's preferred world. Whether it was inhabited by scouts, prospectors or cowboys, he saw a world in which physical skill accomplished the day's tasks, a meal was right at the end of a gun or fishing pole, and distinctions between right and wrong were simply made.
Photo is in fine condition, frame in good condition.
This photograph is from the collection of Judge Oliver Seth, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Offered on ebaY, Nov. 4, 2000. On a genealogical note, he had at least one brother, John, who was born in 1880. The paintings whereabouts are to date unknown. The model is W. Herbert Dunton's niece, Ada Hartley and date to 1916 when she visited her Aunt Nellie and Uncle Buck in Taos.