2006, Warrior Series, bronze with hand-detailed patina and polychrome, edition number 16/60, with artist signature and fingerprint, presented on an oval marble and wood swivel plinth. Included with the Lot is a signed Certificate of Authenticity and Gallery purchase receipts."The Gatekeeper" is the distinctive and final masterwork in Dave McGary's Strongheart Society trilogy. McGary depicts the valiant Teton Sioux Warrior, Iron Thunder, on his war horse as he taunts his enemy to battle by proudly waving his Strongheart's staff.
Iron Thunder's face is painted with the Strongheart's signature black-and-white war paint, and he is cloaked in a green-beaded war shirt and buckskin leggings. Five eagle honor feathers are tiemd to his scalp lock. His regalia is comprised of his decorated shield, which has his personal design, his bow and arrow in the quiver strapped on his back, and a distinctive trade axe which has a heart shaped blade. The horse aggressively fights the bit in his mouth, as he pulls back on the reins. The horse wears a beaded face mask, feathers, and a blanket with beaded edge.

Maquette size 25 3/4 x 19 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.

Private Collection, Wilmington, North Carolina

Purchased directly from McGary Studios, Ruidoso, New Mexico

Dave grew up in Cody, Wyoming and is known for realistic bronze Native American figural sculpture. In the 1970s McGary earned a grant to study bronze making with western sculptor Harry Jackson (American, 1924-2011) in Italy, with emphasis on casting techniques and Renaissance marble carving. After gaining further foundry experience working in New Mexico for several years, Dave became highly interested in Native American culture through his friendship with Sioux Indian families in South Dakota. Dave has won numerous awards for his works, including the Honorary Lifetime Alumni Award from Eastern New Mexico University. He has completed several large scale public bronze monuments. In 1995, Dave's monumental 225 foot long bronze equine sculpture, "Free Spirits at Noisy Water," was installed at Hubbard Museum of the American West in Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico. Dave's work is included in various private collections, and is highly regarded not just for their intricacy and technical facility in capturing detail, but also for honoring the spirit of Native American culture. His sculptures occupy places of honor in an array of prestigious settings, including the Smithsonian Museum, the U.S. Capitol National Statuary Hall, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, the Wyoming State Capital, the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum, the Gene Autry Museum, Concordia University and many more.

Good estate condition; minute areas of patina rubbing to horse ear tips.