American artist Jeremy Winborg is best known for his figurative paintings that blend realism with abstract backgrounds featuring Native Americans dressed in traditional, authentic clothing with a focus on being historically accurate via bold brushwork and skilled pallet knife work. All of his skill is on display in “A Shield for Her People” (in the permanent collection of the Booth Western Art Museum) which depicts a strong beautiful young Native American woman, dressed in traditional attire while holding a long rifle, gazing directly at us with a serious and resolute expression, set against a muted landscape background.
The piece might earn comparisons to Robert Henri's evocative and masterful portraits of women and children, and yet the piece has a contemporary edge to it with Winborg's brushwork loosely assembled behind the figure.
She wears a tan buckskin tunic, adorned with intricate fringe at the hem. Over this, she has a variety of necklaces composed of colorful red, green, blue, and turquoise beads in varying textures and materials. She also wears several rings on her fingers, plus a prominent gold armband. A brown leather pouch is visible next to her on our right. The woman holds a long, old-fashioned rifle that rests against her shoulder, her grip firm on the weapon. The meticulously-painted rifle shows signs of age and use, with metallic accents and leather straps. The woman’s expression is serious and her dark and expressive eyes, convey strength, determination, and resilience.
Winborg was quoted saying, "I love to paint empowered women, not just another pretty face. I want the viewer to be drawn in and feel the emotion of the figure. Whether it's happiness, sorrow or whatever that emotion may be. I want the figure to initially draw the viewer in, but the brushstrokes and design to be the reason you'd want to stop and look for a while, or to enjoy that painting for a lifetime.“
“A Shield for Her People” by Jeremy Winborg (American) - Oil on board / 2018 - Booth Western Art Museum (Cartersville, Georgia) #WomenInArt #art #artwork #artText #JeremyWinborg #Winborg #AmericanArtist #AmericanArt #WesternArt #PortraitofaWoman #NativeAmerican #BlueskyArt #BoothWesternArtMuseum