José Cisneros "U.S. Army Private c. 1881" Signed Pen & Ink Print, 1982 View Watchlist >
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Lot # F390
System ID # 29079157
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José Cisneros "U.S. Army Private c. 1881" Signed Pen & Ink Print, 1982
Pen-and-ink cavalry study by José Cisneros (1910–2009), the El Paso-based master draftsman whose meticulous figural work documented four centuries of horsemen along the Rio Grande borderland. The composition shows a U.S. Army private in full 1881 dress — plumed shako, frogged tunic, carbine in hand — mounted on a rearing horse with a 19th-century steam locomotive passing on the rails behind. Plate-signed and dated "J. Cisneros / El Paso / '82" at lower left, with printed caption "U.S. Army Private — c. 1881" below the image. Pencil-signed "José Cisneros" in the lower right margin.
Cisneros came to El Paso from Durango as a young man and spent his career rendering the soldiers, vaqueros, conquistadors, and frontier figures of the Spanish Borderlands in a precise crosshatched line that reads like steel engraving. His work is held by the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, and the El Paso Museum of Art; he received the National Humanities Medal in 2002. Presented in a stained oak frame with navy mat under glass.
CONDITION
Very Good. Paper presents clean and bright behind glass with crisp impression and a legible pencil signature. Frame shows light handling wear at the edges.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- Framed Overall: 23 3/8" H × 17 7/8" W × 1" D
- Visible Sheet: 16 1/2" H × 11" W
- Medium: Pen-and-ink print on cream wove paper
- Plate-signed and dated lower left: J. Cisneros / El Paso / '82
- Pencil-signed lower right margin: José Cisneros
- Caption: "U.S. Army Private — c. 1881"
- Frame: Stained oak with navy mat under glass
