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Creators & Collectors Series: Leland Stewart

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Leland Stewart

Montana. Crow. Artist.

Montana. Crow. Artist. – Leland Stewart

Leland Stewart

What is one of the first things that comes to mind when you think of Leland Stewart and his works? For me its a combination of passion and visionary. His work gives the onlooker a glimpse into his heritage, into his imagination and into the Crow themselves. They feature various scenes with his iconic long-legged war painted horses and beautiful traditional Native American geometric patterns and painted war shield borders.

Leland is a native Montanan and a member of the Crow Nation, Whistling Water Clan and the High Hawk Society. He has been an avid painter and passionate about portraying his culture and heritage with the brush nearly his entire life dating back to when he attended high school at Saint Labre Indian Mission in Ashland, Montana. His fervor for art drove him to start experimenting with other mediums such as pottery, photography and ceramics when attending and graduating from the Institute of American Indian Arts in New Mexico in 1975.

As he later states in his answers to our Creators and Collectors series questions and when quoted by the Havre Daily News in 2016, “At that time, water color was the most challenging medium to me, so I decided to focus on it.”

When given the chance to view his work in person one is overwhelmed by not just the astounding talent of the hand that produced the piece but also a rich depth of Leland’s life. His works speak to his being raised in the heritage of the Crow, attending sundances, medicine bundle ceremonies and powwows with his grandmother.

A few months ago our North American Auction Co. team came up with this new concept of highlighting some of our staff’s favorite artists, silversmiths, creators. In doing so we also thought of asking several notable collectors their unique perspective on the other side of creating, those that collect it, why they do so etc. When we started to finalize the concept of the Creators & Collectors series the very first person I thought of and the mind I was hoping to learn more about was Leland Stewart.

We have had the honor of marrying Leland’s work with many collectors and adore his work. Luckily when I reached out to Colleen White-Wolf, Leland’s wife, she was so excited for the both of them to participate. Below are the questions and answers from our new Creators & Collectors blog series.

“At the time, water color was the most challenging medium to me, so I decided to focus on it.”

Leland stewart from his 2016 Havre Daily News article.

What is your favorite piece you’ve ever made?

The warriors in the front, the city of Billings and the Rimrocks in the background titled “1700’s Warriors Vision of Billings Montana”

What gives you the inspiration to create a piece?

The challenge of watercolors, they are hard to control.

Do you collect anything, such as art, art similar to yours, silverwork, antiques, etc.

I collect ceramics, lithographs and my grandchildren’s paintings.

Who are five creators or artists you admire?

CM Russell

Remington

Kevin Redstar

Earl Biss

Renaissance Artists like Leonardo De’Vinci, Vogh.

If you could drop everything and start over doing something different, what would you do?

Architecture

What’s your least favorite part of creating a new painting?

Getting started and trying to think of something to paint.

If you were to make a piece that would be displayed in the White House, what would it be?

Plains Warriors

“Don’t be afraid to go beyond their imaginations“

LELAND STEWART WHEN ASKED WHAT ADVICE FOR A NEW CREATOR JUST GETTING STARTED.

“Never give up on your dreams to create.”

LELAND STEWART

If you had advise for another creators what would it be?

Have fun with it and don’t be afraid to mix colors to create something.

What is something you wish you knew starting out?

Oil painting and Acrylics.

What advice would you give to a younger generation who might be interested in being a creator?

I have donated watercolor paintings to young people to inspire them to create.

What about advice for a new creator just getting started?

Don’t be afraid to go beyond their imagination.

What notable figure (ie political, celebrity, historic etc.,) would you be most impressed if they owned one of your pieces?

CM Russell

Is there a piece you’ve always wanted to create but haven’t yet?

Yes, it hasn’t come to my mind yet.

Where do you see the Native American Art space in 20 years?

I think it will be more poplar as new Native American artists come out.

What is a different style or medium you wish you could do?

Air brush on cars, clothing and buildings

What’s your favorite piece a competitor or similar artist has made and why?

Earl Biss paintings, because of his unique style of Indian paintings.

What is one of your current projects and what excites you about it?

Trying to create 10 pieces at the same time.

Anything you want to add?

“Never give up on your dreams to create.”

We hope you enjoyed the first Creators & Collectors Series. Leland is such an amazing creator and we are honored to partner with him and offer his amazing works to collectors such as you. Below are a few of the links to several pieces listed in our July 31st Sale. We will also have at least two are three listed in our August Sale as Leland is one of our most prominent and favorite artists to share.

Love the series? Want to see more? Have an idea on how to improve or change the blog? We would love if you could subscribe, share or send any ideas you have to us! We would also love if you shared this series on social or just to a friend so that more people can enjoy the work from such a talented man.

Thanks,

Tucker Markovich, NAAC VP (Auctioneer, IT-Guy, Item Repair Man, Coffee-Maker, Blog-writer, Bottle Washer and whatever else hits my work bench)

Leland Stewart Original Art in our July 31st Sale Below:

https://northamericanauctioncompany.hibid.com/lot/95615854/original-watercolor-by-crow-native-leland-stewart/?q=&ref=lot-list

https://northamericanauctioncompany.hibid.com/lot/96190998/original-watercolor-by-crow-native-leland-stewart/?q=&ref=lot-list

https://northamericanauctioncompany.hibid.com/lot/96191001/original-watercolor-by-crow-native-leland-stewart/?q=&ref=lot-list

Source: https://www.havredailynews.com/story/2016/11/04/local/leland-stewarts-serenade-featured-at-northern/511029.html

Leland Stewart Art Found in our July 31st Sale

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Iconic. Rebellious. Montana – Ruana Knives

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Rudy Ruana Knives

Iconic. Rebellious. Montana

Iconic. Rebellious. Montana – Ruana Knives

Rudy Ruana

Left home at 13.

Lied about his age at 16 to join the Army

He was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky as a farrier in the Cavalry. Working by the sweat of his brow shoeing horses, a task more akin to blacksmithing than ranching, Rudy seemed almost on a destined path to bladesmithing. 

After presumable making his own blades due to his need for an edge to perform highly at his everyday task as a farrier, others from Fort Knox started to take notice. His first “knife collectors” or more appropriately customers were Montana Blackfeet tribe members who were working as horse breakers. They needed a blade that was stout enough to withstand their rigorous job but yet still retain a sharp edge to skin a frozen horse in the dead of winter, and as will become the definition of Ruana Knives themselves Rudy met the challenge. 

He met the need for Montana hunters and ranchers who were sick of the wasteful mass-produced knives that you could buy off the shelves, “A lot of knives back then, the guards would come off or the blades were loose,” says Hangas (son-in-law to Ruana and eventual owner of Ruana Knives). “But Rudy was what I always called ‘hell for stout,’ and he wanted to make something that would never fall apart” (source 1).

Rudy Ruana didn’t just make knives he made a tool that would last the users lifetime, their kids lifetime and so on.

“Quality over Quantity” as Mark Hagas Would Say.

Rudy Ruana didn’t just make knives he made a tool that would last the users life time, their kids lifetime and so on. “Quality over quantity” as Mark Hangas would say (source 1). Over the years I, Tucker of North American Auction Co. have seen many a Ruana which had been passed through multiple generations of family members showing only the obvious signs of use. Ruana knives were made to be used, and used they were.

His work wasn’t about looks, but inevitably his iconic design of cast aluminum integral handles paired with antler grip scales being dovetailed and paired with heavy leather sheaths all bearing the Ruana name has now become the prize for many a knife collector.

A Ruana blade is crafted in the very same shop Rudy forged, even using many of the very same tools and machines he used as well, keeping the same spirit Rudy had, that of Montana.

That spirit, a quiet rebellious, hard working, roll your sleeves up, build for quality and longevity attitude that is woven into the fabric of all Montanans. We built North American Auction Co. and founded it here in Bozeman, Montana under these same principles. We wanted to work harder, put in more time and give our customers the best product we possibly could. We’ve put our neck on the line time and time again, being told by competitors and mentors that we put too much into our photography, too much into our descriptions, that we spend to much on our catalogs and should focus more on easier things to sell like other auctioneers. Instead we put our heads down, rolled up our sleeves and for the last decade we worked. 

I hope that you all enjoy the several Ruana handmade knives along with other collector knives that are in the next sale as much as I do and that you put into your lives, your work, your everything the same attitude that Rudy did. 

I would also love to hear from you about what you’d like to interact with in upcoming blog entries. It’s kind of a cliche to say customers make our business or that we couldn’t do this without you, but its true. Let me know what you think about these amazing Ruana Knives and what you’d love to hear about in our next blog entry.

That spirit, a quiet rebellious, hard working, roll your sleeves up, build for quality and longevity attitude that is woven into the fabric of all Montanans.

We built North American Auction Co. and founded here in Bozeman, Montana under these same principles.

I would love to hear from you about what you’d like to interact with in upcoming blog entries.

Tucker Markovich

Thanks,

Tucker Markovich, NAAC VP (Auctioneer, IT-Guy, Item Repair Man, Coffee-Maker, Blog-writer, Chief Bottle Washer and whatever else hits my work bench)

Ruana Knives in the next sale: https://northamericanauctioncompany.hibid.com/lot/88832649/r-h–ruana-camp-knife-and-leather-sheath/?sortOrder=3&ipp=10&q=&ref=catalog 

https://northamericanauctioncompany.hibid.com/lot/88832444/r-h–ruana-skinner-knife-and-leather-sheath/?q=&m=1&sortOrder=3&ipp=10&ref=catalog

https://northamericanauctioncompany.hibid.com/lot/88832310/r-h–ruana-skinner-knife-and-leather-scabbard/?q=&m=1&sortOrder=3&ipp=10&ref=catalog

Source 1: https://bigskyjournal.com/local-knowledge-ruana-knives/ 

Source: https://www.ruanaknives.com/company-history-and-mission 

Ruana Knives Found in our May 15th 2021 Sale

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