Description
Artwork Size: 20×16, Medium: Oil on Canvas, Location Depicted in Artwork: Fort Smith, AR, Artist Statement: In 1875, Judge Parker was nominated by Ulysses S. Grant as the judge for the Western District of Arkansas, and was the youngest Federal judge in the West at the age of 36. Holding court for the first time in May of that year, eight men were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Only six of the eight were sent to the gallows. Depictions of Judge Parker in the movies “True Grit” inspired me to imagine what kind of resolve it took to be in his position.
