37.5 X 10.25 Oil
Perhaps one of the most unique pieces in the collection, Magpies is unlike any other Minerva Teichert we have seen. It is a completely western themed work featuring magpies at the tail end of picking over a cattle skull. It has one of the most dominant signatures of Minerva Teichert to be found. She was happy with this piece.
The work is also an example of Minerva using almost anything she can find to paint on. The back side seems to have once had another canvas adhered to it. Even more interestingly, there is what appears to be at least one .22-calibre bullet hole in the work. Anything could have been used to puncture the surface of the board the painting is on. She would hang large canvases on nails in her living room. The board could be a fragment from a larger piece, but there are numerous other holes in it as well. Its just kind of fun to think she would have used an old target to paint a painting on…