WindSong Gallery

Mysteries and Curiosities

Throughout Blackcloud's career as an artist, he has experienced a number of unusual events which have punctuated, either by their sense of irony or mystery, his ascent as a prominent contemporary.

True Hollywood Mystery..
The first painting Blackcloud completed which ever came up missing was a seascape commissioned by a friend in California. While staying at his friend's apartment in early 60's Hollywood, the painting -- measuring an unusual four feet by two and half feet -- mysteriously disappeared while awaiting the return of Robert's friend. Unusual, because the painting was positioned behind a sofa and few people were presumed to know of its existence. To this day, this painting remains unrecovered.

The Entry That Almost Wasn't..
During the  early 1970's, while Blackcloud was working as a peace officer and attending Oklahoma State University, he created a small painting in watercolor of a harbor during a gathering storm. Displeased with the work, he  promptly disposed of the piece in the nearby trash. Someone discovered the discarded original, framed it and, unbeknownst to Robert, entered it in that year's collegiate art show and competition.  It won first place and was purchased by an area collector.

All May Not Be As It Seems.. When Something Lies Beneath..
At least two of Robert's former residences are home to wall murals. One is a seascape in a Houston suburb, the other may still reside on an unassuming wall of a small apartment in the tiny village of Marble, Colorado. It consists of three racing Arabians in a sepia oil palette - also probably years buried under layers of paint or, by now, demolished.

Where is he now?
A most compelling mystery remains the theft of an original oil completed around the same time that the harbor painting was sold. While still in Oklahoma, Robert had completed a large and stunningly beautiful portrait. In this portrait Blackcloud achieved a level of authenticity which culminated in a haunting conveyance of emotion, or rather the poignant reservation of it. According to family accounts, his subject seemed as if alive and embodied with a deep sense of presence. Some say that the best portraiture subjects have a way of following you around the room. "This one not only followed you - the spirit of it occupied the room with you. It made you feel the heavy absence of conversation, which you somehow felt uncomfortably compelled to address. Like sitting with someone you've only just met - but haven't been introduced to." says his daughter. 

The painting was of the aging Kaw Chief, Washungah. When asked why Robert chose Chief Washunga as a subject, he replied: "I was drawn to the expression in his eyes. He possessed a gaze which told of great strength, but also of a leader resigned to the fate of his people and unable to change the course of their destiny. His pain was tangible, and something I wanted to honor."

His wife who had awoken the morning following the completion of the painting entered the living room of their home, turned on the light and shrieked in surprise as she faced the portrait turned toward her and resting in the armchair. "It was completely unnerving," Emma recalls. "He looked so real, so intense and sad - like he was alive." 

Shortly thereafter, Robert and his family moved to an area just north of Houston, Texas. While a number of family possessions were in a storage unit awaiting the purchase of their home,  a thief cut the lock which secured the unit, found the painting among towers of other items, cut the canvas from the frame, then, without disturbing anything else, carefully repositioned the damaged lock and disappeared without a trace.

"I suppose such thievery should be regarded with some sense of appreciation. Perhaps the person in possession of the work is simply an heir, or -- it having been sold, resold or traded through the years -- is simply an unknowing owner of something with so storied a past." muses Blackcloud. "It's been a long time. They must've wanted it pretty badly." Although it saddens Robert's family to have been dispossessed of one of the greatest compositions in Robert's career, after nearly thirty years, his estate, in exchange for the opportunity to photograph the work and create authorized prints, offers complete amnesty to anyone who may be in possession of this important work.  If you should know of this painting or are the owner, please contact Robert's representative listed on the contact page of this site.

To view a picture of Chief Washunga or for more information regarding the fascinating history of the Kaw / Kansa (South Wind) people, please visit the "Kaw/Kanza Nation Archives" on-line.

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