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Choose The Call of the Flute as a hand painted oil painting and skip the compromise of printed wall decor. Based on Eanger Irving Couse's original. Our artists rebuild the fine art composition stroke by stroke, producing romantic canvas wall art with lasting color depth.
1922
Oil on canvas
24 x 29 inches (61.0 x 73.7 cm)
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, United States.
E. Irving Couse's The Call of the Flute from 1922 embodies the finest qualities of his mature work: the romantic subject of the contemplative lone Indian in nature; dramatic light, accentuated by a dusk setting and distant campfire glow; and a tonal blue-green palette creating a poetic atmosphere. Equally noteworthy, The Call of the Flute has remained in the same Houston, Texas, family since its purchase in 1923. Accompanying the painting is a photograph on whose verso Couse noted, "This painting size 24 x 29 in. entitled 'The Call of the Flute' was painted by me at Taos, New Mexico, in 1922 & is an excellent example of my work of that character."
In 1922, Couse was at the height of his career, having fully established himself within the Taos art community. After decades of training in illustrious institutions, including the Chicago Art Institute, National Academy of Design in New York, and Académie Julian in Paris, in 1902 he first heard about Taos through his friend and fellow artist Ernest Blumenschein, who described the incomparable light and fresh subjects that the town's environs had to offer. Enticed, Couse and his wife, artist Virginia Walker, began spending their summers in Taos, all too happy to leave behind the rat race of New York. In 1910, they refurbished a Spanish monastery there into a home and studio. Five years later, the Taos Society of Artists was formed, and Couse was elected its first president. His paintings from this period readily adopted a brighter palette and indigenous subjects, particularly the Pueblo Indians, whose gentle demeanor and artistic practices reminded him of the Chippewa Indians he had drawn as a boy in Saganaw, Michigan. Couse's celebrity in Taos continued to grow well after his family permanently settled there in 1927, due in large measure to the patronage of the Santa Fe Railroad, which published over twenty of his paintings on the cover of its annual calendar.
Couse repeated two primary themes in his Taos paintings: the Pueblo craftsman weaving, potting, or making jewelry in a domestic environment, and the Pueblo "naturalist" outdoors by a stream, either fishing, playing a flute, or meditating. In The Call of the Flute, one of the latter types, Couse depicts a favorite model, Ben Lujan, squatting on the banks of a river and softly playing his flute, the moonlight etching his idealized body against a backdrop of pine trees. In the background, the faint glow of a campfire intensifies the overall lyrical effect, while underscoring the Indian's momentary and intentional separation from community. Couse's attention to the sitter's physique and the details of his breechcloth and leggings (a costume mixture from various tribes) reflects his academic training under William-Adolphe Bouguereau at the Académie Julian. Indeed, preferring to paint in the studio rather than en plein air, Couse carefully arranged the elements of his compositions, using photography as a guide and posing his models with his collection of Native American artifacts. Although Couse often painted Pueblo Indians playing flutes, The Call of the Flute, in situating the sensitive musician within a moody, twilight setting, is one of his most evocative works.
Every hand painted oil painting in this fine art series is finished on artist-grade canvas and checked against the original before it leaves the studio.
Trained artists work in stages — underpainting, mid-tones, highlights, and detail — using traditional oils on canvas. Because nothing is printed, every hand painted oil painting has its own subtle texture and depth.
For living room wall decor that does not feel generic, a painted fine art canvas is hard to beat. It is a popular fine art oil painting pick for new homeowners and a durable alternative to seasonal poster art.
In short: The Call of the Flute - Eanger Irving Couse - Hand Painted Oil Painting combines a romantic composition, a 100% hand painted oil painting process, and the flexibility of made-to-order canvas sizes — a dependable choice for fine art oil painting and living room wall decor.
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 X 24 in | $77.98 |
| 24 X 36 in | $120.48 |
| 30 X 40 in | $166.48 |
| 36 X 48 in | $221.48 |
| 48 X 72 in | $430.48 |
The sizes shown are the reproduction canvas sizes we paint to order. The dimensions given in a work's description refer to the original artwork and will differ from the sizes offered here. Not sure? Read the size guide or e-mail us.
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Every canvas is painted by hand in oils on artist-grade stretched canvas, with an extra blank border left for framing. How to care for your painting.
Measurements are on the size guide, or e-mail [email protected] and we reply within one business day.
