"TR, Hear That?"
Oil on canvas, 24x48,
Price on request

As the campfire crackles and the aroma of venison cooking wafts through the camp, the hunters sit telling far fetched stories. The light from the fire in the clearing hardly illuminates the surrounding forest. The elderly guide, seated center, alerts his illustrious client, Theodore Roosevelt, seated on the ground, to a snapping sound coming from the dark shrouded forest.

“TR, hear that?” he asks and simultaneously points in the direction of the sound. They strain their eyes and peer into the inky blackness. The flickering fire creates optical illusions as the shadows dance among the trees. TR’s hunting companion momentarily pauses to look up, as he continues to pour his coffee.

Are their eyes playing tricks or is that a bear?

It is September 5, 1901 in the Adirondacks, and tomorrow TR will hear something else. He will receive word by means of a runner that President McKinley has been shot at the opening of Buffalo’s Pan-American Exhibition. As Vice President, TR makes his way to Buffalo, and on September 14, eight days after being shot, McKinley dies, and Theodore Roosevelt becomes America’s youngest President. Could the words “TR, Hear That?” have really referred to forthcoming news that William McKinley had been assassinated?

TR was an avid deer hunter and hunted from some of the most famous deer camps, as well as his own Elkhorn Ranch. He hunted with many of the great deerslayers of the era. In my painting, I have used some license and modeled the guide on the famous hunter, John Erwin, known as the Captain, and leader of Deer Camp Erwin in Ohio. His companion is based on a young George Shiras III, a good friend of the President’s.

The scene I have depicted is complete with the crudely made sled used to drag the bucks, which are now hanging, back to camp.