“This scene shows part of the old Lolo Trail used by the Nez Perce Indians when they left their home country in Idaho in 1877 and crossed over the Bitter Root range into the Bitter Root valley heading east in their attempt to reach Canada,” says artist Howard Terpning. “The trail was extremely rough and dangerous and yet hundreds of people managed to cross the mountains, including old people and children, with all their horses and goods. It was an amazing accomplishment. I could paint this portion of the trail with some authority since I spent two days riding the trail on horseback in the summer of 1985. It was this adventure that inspired me to do the painting.”

Howard Terpning is the most renowned and honored Western artist working today. His original paintings are out of reach for most of us but you can hang this signed Masterwork™ in your home or office for a fraction of the cost of one of his original paintings. He most recently was awarded the Thomas Moran Memorial Award for Painting at the Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale in February 2010 for his painting The Sound of a Distant Bugle.