Irving Couse

Irving Couse was best known for his Native American Indian Art prints and paintings, which he was initially unable to sell. He later lived for 10 years in France painting landscapes in Normandy. He returned to the United States, however, where he supported and painted the Tao Native Americans in New Mexico and their struggles for freedom. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Academy of Design in New York, and then went to Paris to l’École des Beaux-Arts.

Couse’s paintings depicted an idealized image of Native Americans. He created many works for the Santa Fe Railway Company, which had opened up indigenous lands by rail. Two Hunters was painted in oil on canvas sized 91 x 132 cm. The painting was reproduced in the 1928 art catalog. In 1932 he submitted Indian Hunter. There are, however, several paintings with this title, including one from 1925.