Earl Biss Chief of Paradise III Signed Southwest Lithograph on Paper 26/45 Frame

A contemporary lithograph in colors on paper titled “Chief of Paradise III” by Southwest artist Earl Biss. Hand signed in pencil on the bottom right with an annotation of 26/45 on the bottom left. Published circa 1980s. A powerful composition depicting four figures on horseback riding into a vast blue sky. Biss found inspiration for his works in tribal legends and histories learned from the elders, and in the sweeping landscapes of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. From a private collection. Dimensions: 27.75”h x 42.25”w x 1”d (framed). In very good vintage condition. 

Earl Biss (1947-1998) was a profound contributor to the explosion of Southwestern Art in the last half of the 20th century, and particularly to the rise of contemporary Native American Art. His compelling portraits of Plains Indian horsemen, his phenomenal grasp of the medium of oil painting, and above all the sheer exuberance of his palette and brushwork earned him a place in the history books of modern art. He was, according to one Southwest critic and collector, ""The greatest colorist of the 20th century."" Biss was a central figure in the ""miracle generation"" of students at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe in the 1960s. He worked in many places in addition to Santa Fe, including San Francisco, California, Red Lodge, Montana, and cities in Colorado such as Aspen, Boulder, and Denver. Biss often painted in bursts of 48 to 72 hours or more, eating little and sometimes working to collapse. He created thousands of paintings and drawings in his lifetime, many of which sold so fast their whereabouts are unknown. His works in the Contemporary Southwestern Art style are now collected worldwide.