Steiner's Digest

Some time ago, I came across a painting on which a hunter, traveling on horseback through the Rocky Mountains, is suddenly attacked by a grizzly bear.

I loved it. It reminded me of the Wild West stories and films I devoured when I was a young boy. And of the great illustrations that filled the pages of the adventure books I read with action and drama.

I could hear the screams of the frightened horse and mule, the primeval roar of the bear, smell the cool, moist mountain air, and feel the shock of the rider, the adrenaline that suddenly shot through his body, making him alert and dreamy at the same time, slowing time down so that he could make up his mind what to do, how to react, suddenly feeling very much alive in the face of death.

From the style of the painting, I assumed it was an old one, perhaps from the 19th century. I forgot about it, but today I searched for it online and discovered that it is actually the work of a contemporary artist.

His name is Andy Thomas, and he lives and works in Carthage, Missouri. I’m sure many ‚experts‘ would claim that his art, which includes Western and Civil War scenes, as well as a slightly odd series featuring American presidents playing poker, is not ‚real‘ art but purely decorative, retrospective and clichéd – a mere exercise of the impressive craftsmanship he acquired on his own, never having attended art school.

Thank God I’m not an art expert. I can just enjoy the Grizzly and take the opportunity to briefly get in touch with my boyhood self.