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Creek Trial

by Solomon McCombs

Casein on paper
Dimensions: 20 x 26
Purchased through a National Endowment for the Arts grant, 1979

Creek Trial by Solomon McCombs

The Artwork

In this outdoor scene, seven men and a dog take a moment for rest and contemplation while on the Creek Trial. Painted in a flat style with no painted ground or sky, the artist is able to show depth through scale, overlapping, and the use of perspective in the brush arbor. The artist provides unity in this work through the use of repeated colors. Using red and orange, he guides the viewer's attention to the seated individuals.

The Artist

Muscogee Creek artist Solomon McCombs was born May 17, 1913, in Eufaula, Oklahoma. McCombs led an interesting life that was filled with art from an early age. When McCombs was just a boy he suffered an injury which left him bedridden for a great deal of time. It was during this time he became fascinated with art. After high school, he went onto study at Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma for one year. At Bacone, he studied under the famed artist Acee Blue Eagle. After his brief time at Bacone, he attended Tulsa Downtown College. After college he went to work for the U.S. Department of State, traveling throughout the continents of Asia and Africa lecturing about Native American culture and exhibiting his paintings. In 1973, he retired to become a full-time painter. He continued to paint scenes of the Muscogee Creek people and customs until he passed away in Tulsa on November 18, 1980.