Edwin Willard Deming

Edwin Willard Deming was a painter of Indian and animal subjects in the West, beginning 1887. He was a sculptor, muralist, illustrator, and writer. He studied at the Art Students League until 1884, then in Paris for a year with Boulanger and Lefebvre.

In 1887 he visited the Apaches and the Pueblo Indians in the Southwest and the Umatillas in Oregon. During 1889-90 he painted Indian portraits. His Indian paintings, which were first exhibited in 1891, included The Grand Charge That Ended the Fight Against Custer. In 1893 he and fellow artist DeCost Smith, traveled west to write and illustrate several magazine articles. Their last article was illustrated by Frederic Remington, who shared other illustrating assignments with Deming. Subsequently, Deming spent three decades living with Indians including the tribes he first visited in 1887. He was committed to depicting the unspoiled Indian, a mission he perceived as trying to make amends for corrupting their culture. He died in New York City in 1942.

Works held: Los Angeles County Museum Of Art; Laguna Beach Museum; Smithsonian American Art Museum; American Museum of Natural History; The Brooklyn Museum of Art; Frederick Remington Art Museum; Buffalo Bill Historical Center; Phoenix Art Museum; Arizona State University Art Museum; Amon Carter Museum.