How Many Beaver? by John Buxton

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“In the early days of contact between the Colonial Frontiersmen and Native American Nations, it became apparent that each wanted something of the other . . . thus began trade, primarily the fur trade,” explains artist John Buxton. “Native territories held good habitat for many fur bearing species and the various Indian Nations took advantage of this bounty to procure those European goods that would change their way of life. The old ways of the bow and arrow, stone axes and the original life of their ancestors would be altered with the introduction of wool and cloth for clothing, metal pots for cooking, sharper knives and hatchets, iron traps and, of course, the flintlock gun. All of these products resulted in culture change and a growing dependence upon these trade items in order to maintain the good life.”

In John Buxton’s "How Many Beaver?," an Indian holds a trade gun and asks how many beaver pelts-like the stretched & dried skins behind him—it would take to keep the flintlock. This painting was awarded First Place out of 4,000 entries in the Portrait category of the 2005 "The Artist’s Magazine" competition and graced the cover of the December issue.