Ancel Nunn, THE FALLEN VISION OF ISA TAI
Ancel Nunn, THE FALLEN VISION OF ISA TAI
Lithograph. Numbered 25/41. Signed. Image 19" x 12.5." Frame 30.25" x 23.5." Double-matted with glass. Frame has a couple of spots where wood has stripped off (see photos).
Isa-Tai was a Comanche prophet who in 1874 roused the Comanches to attack a group of white buffalo hunters. In the Second Battle of Adobe Walls, which took place in the Texas Panhandle, the Comanches were defeated. Isa-Tai was quickly discredited as an Indian leader and the Comanches were soon confined to a reservation. Nunn's depiction of Isa-Tai is sympathetic but not overly sentimental. The disembodied heads of both the buffalo and Isa-Tai convey the reality of defeat and dislocation. As art, the image is a thing of beauty. If only all fallen visions were this impressive.