Featured in this lot are two, Winold Reiss Empire Builder "Blackfeet" calendars from 1939 and 1940. Winold Reiss was a German-born American artist and graphic designer. In 1920, he went West for the first time, working for months on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, painting 36 portraits of tribal members. Over the years Reiss painted more than 250 works depicting Native Americans. These paintings by Reiss became known more widely beginning in the 1920s to the 1950s, when the Great Northern Railway commissioned Reiss to do paintings of the Blackfeet which were then distributed widely as lithographed reproductions on Great Northern calendars. In 1931, and 1934-37, Reiss organized a summer art school, also referred to as an artists' colony near Glacier National Park. The first shows the artwork titled, "The Sign Talkers - Blackfeet Braves" and shows two Native American men talking with a sort of sign language. Below, it reads, "Route of the Empire Builder / Between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest via Glacier National Park". The calendar only features two months, November and December 1940. The second calendar, from 1939, shows the artwork titled, "Clears Up - Blackfeet Brave" and shows Clears Up sitting and looking to the right of the viewer into the distance. Below the art it reads, "Great Northern Railway / Route of the Empire Builder". This calendar only features three months, October, November and December 1939. The calendars show good condition overall with some wear present from their age and use over the years, but no major signs of damage is noted. Wear or edges and corners and slight tears present. They measure 33 5/8" L x 16 1/8" W and have a collective weight of under 6 ounces.

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