THE GIFT

Bronze, 31”H x 36.5”L x 24”D, Limited Ed. of 10 – Created 2013

Premier Platinum Winner, 2013 Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale

“At first I was searching for a moment in time where I could historically place Prince Albert I of Monaco and Buffalo Bill in an exciting hunting scene. But after extensive historic research of the Camp Monaco hunt, it became clear that they did not actually hunt together.

My thinking moved me back to a historical picture taken in 1913 on the streets of Cody, WY of a gift exchange between Prince Albert I, Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation and Buffalo Bill. It had also been recorded that the Prince of Monaco so enjoyed his time in town that he stayed an extra three days; stating that one of his greatest dreams had been realized. He even planned to return the following year, but could not as the world turned its attention to the greatest challenge ever faced to date, the outbreak of World War I.

This period marked the end of an era; a historical transition in which the “wildness” of the West became increasingly more distant as the fight for democracy raged onward. My intention was to capture sculpturally the spirit and essence of these men and be respectful to the original 1913 photograph.”

– Vic Payne