Ferdinand Fior (1793-1881). Oil on canvas. 20 x 24 inches, 24 1/2 x 31 inches framed.Ferdinand Flor was a noted German artist who traveled throughout Europe. Evidence of Flor‘s schooling in the classical tradition is apparent in all of his works and is particularly evident in his approach to the composition and treatment of the figures in Indian Dance. this work is remarkable for being the work of an artist who never traveled to America. Flor was fascinated by tales and accounts of the natives of the American West. Especially in Germany, a conception of the romantic noble savage prevailed in written and visual accounts, and this fascination with the New World carried over into popular culture, where western novels and travel literature spread ideas about frontier America to a broad public. In a society torn by social and political strife, books about the American West provided a release from the grim reality of the present, and they were more popular in Germany than in any other country during the 19th century. This factor might be considered the defining inspiration for Flor’s splendid painting, which reflects not only his own artistic mastery but his immersion in a particularly romantic conception of the West.