Leon Gaspard was a Taos painter of the early 20th century, with an eccentric style that makes him marginally less popular than some of his straightforwardly impressionist colleagues.
He was a Russian who traveled in the the Soviet Union in the 20’s. Like his predecessor , the poet and novelist Lermontov (grandfather Scot “Learmont”), his was a transformed western name– his grandfather was a Huguenot refugee fleeing persecution in France.*
For now, a simple image, very real despite romanticism… photo’d from Frank Water’s book. I would be interested in seeing any better version, or any of the other falconry images that exist…
* Or the great 20th century ornithologist Vladimir Flint, whose “Flint’s Rules” for toasting with Vodka have brought many to their knees…