No information about H. Call has been located, but certain aspects of the National Gallery's painting reveal his skill. Although the cow is out of scale with its surroundings and is flatly painted, and the landscape is not naturalistic, the pink glowing sky and highlighted clouds suggest a more sophisticated technique. The inscription provides the information of the artist's name, and the fact that he was active in 1876. [This is an edited version of the artist's biography published in the NGA Systematic Catalogue]
Artist Bibliography
1992
Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 41.