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~Calamity Jane~

Mixed Medium Historical posted on Apr 28, 2024
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Description


~Calamity Jane~ My homage to Calamity Jane, born in 1856 as Martha Jane Canary, a legendary American outlaw, adventurer, and sharpshooter who lived during the Wild West era. She was described as having blond hair, hazel eyes, and standing at five feet nine inches tall - a rare treat for women of the period. My depiction looks nothing like her, but hey, it's an artistic interpretation! Her life was marked by alcoholism even by early years, due to her father dying when she was just 14, putting the livelihood of her 5 siblings on her shoulders. Her mother Charlotte has died of pneumonia in 1866 when Jane was only 10. Among other things, she worked as a dishwasher, cook, waitress, dance hall girl, nurse, and ox team driver. In 1874, she finally found more stable work as a scout at Fort Russell. She spent much of her life traveling around the United States, often performing shows and demonstrations involving sharpshooting and horseback riding skills, in a similar fashion as "Wild Bill" Hickok and William Frederick "Buffalo Bill". As a matter of fact, there were numerous legends of Jane being married to the famous "Wild Bill" Hickok gunslinger, but there is very little evidence to support the claim. Nonetheless, she took a picture of herself smugging by his grave at Deadwood, Dakota Territory, in the 1890s. Contrary to popular belief, she was rejected by the Wild West Show, and she likely performed independently at various venues throughout the country, sometimes alongside members of the Wild West troupe. Nevertheless, her reputation became intertwined with that of the show, further enhancing her status as a larger-than-life figure of the Wild West epoch. Her nickname was earned in 187X, after saving the life of a military commanding officer (Capt. Egan) who was shot during a raid between rival factions at the vicinity of Bear River in Wyoming, catching him before he fell from his horse, and riding him back to the fort (possibly Fort Bridger). By Jane's own record, on recovering, Capt. Egan laughingly said: "I name you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains". It is unknown if "Jane" was already part of her name, or added along with her nickname. However, another officer from the area later claimed that none of this has happened, and that Jane was simply a notorious character, dissolute and devilish, but possessed a generous streak which made her popular. Being a professional storyteller, much of her stories were myths, which was common in that place and period. In 1932, at the age of 76, Jane has boarded a train to Terry, South Dakota, where she drunk herself to death. Her passing was reported to be the result of a pneumonia aggravated by an inflammation and a lifetime of alcoholism. So not only she was too tall for women of that time and place, but she has also outlived most people - even when having drinking issues from childhood. What a woman!

Comments (2)


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shadelix

12:37PM | Sun, 28 April 2024

Great obituary to this Wild west legend. In the Lucky Luke comics they had a nice hommage story with her. However, in that comic she was drawn as redhead. A replic of a photograph showed her in the typical leather wear of that time -- definitely not as sexy as your art!

Great work!

Ken1171_Designs

5:36PM | Sun, 28 April 2024

Thank you! In my research, I have found a few photos of her, but they were (obviously) black and white, so I took her hair and eyes color from reports, and they say she was either light brown or blonde hair with hazel eyes, which she typically braided or tied up. Two of her most prominent features were her staggering height, and a gap in her front teeth. I didn't depict any of that, but I honored the reported hair and eye colors.

However, you might notice the original image had red hair, which I assume from folk tales, but later in the research I had it recolored based on new information. There is a lot of false information about her, which is common when the character becomes more of a myth than a person. Same happened to Buffalo Bill and other wild west heroes of that period. Another myth was the battle from where she got her nickname, claimed to be a natives raid, which is incorrect. Instead, it was a local gang internal dispute. Under further investigation, BOTH accounts were myths! LOL Jane was a professional storyteller, and made a livelihood out of it, so she came up with the tales herself.

The only person who has become a myth while still alive is Chuck Noris, now 84! 😁

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RodS

8:44PM | Sun, 28 April 2024

What a great image, and a fascinating history of this legendary lady! Inspiring....

Ken1171_Designs

10:35PM | Sun, 28 April 2024

Thank you! Just now I realized they made a 2024 movie about her, but it appears to be a flop. What a waste with such a great character and rich story!


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