Pride of the Piegan
$1,800.00
Editorial View
The Gallery's Perspective
You notice him first as a presence—measured, watchful, bearing the quiet weight of history. The portrait focuses on a single figure rendered with spare, assured brushwork: a man whose face is marked by red forehead pigment and dark linear markings that give his expression gravity without theatrics. The necklace of large claws around his neck is a striking visual anchor; its rhythm and texture contrast with the softer rendering of hair, otter-fur edging, and the beaded, fringed shoulder panels. Liang’s palette favors warm earth tones—browns, ochres and muted reds—set against a pale, brushed background that lets the figure hold the foreground like a memory brought into focus. The painting feels reverent rather than celebratory, suggesting respect for courage, tradition, and the toll of time. It’s the kind of image that quietly asks you to consider lineage and the symbols people carry to speak for them across generations.
The Artwork
About The Grizzly Claw Necklace
The Grizzly Claw Necklace<br> LIMITED EDITION CANVAS
The Great Plains grizzly bear has been extinct for over 100 years but when this species was abundant, a grizzly claw necklace was a coveted goal and prized possession. The wearer was regarded as brave and as one who possessed great medicine. The number of claws signified the number of grizzly bears a hunter had confronted. Only the front claws were used so twenty claws meant the wearer had met with at least two grizzlies, no small feat since the grizzly could take a bullet (or two!) and still keep charging. Of course a necklace could also be won in battle, as the reward for killing an enemy who wore it.
The claws would be mounted on a core which was then covered in otter fur. When Plains grizzlies became rare, necklaces were made from Rocky Mountain grizzlies or the claws would be carved from elk antler, a painstaking and exacting process that earned nearly as much respect as trophy claws from a bear killing.
Sold for $42,500, this Z.S. Liang painting was the top-seller at the 2010 National Museum of Wildlife Art’s largest annual fundraiser.
The claws would be mounted on a core which was then covered in otter fur. When Plains grizzlies became rare, necklaces were made from Rocky Mountain grizzlies or the claws would be carved from elk antler, a painstaking and exacting process that earned nearly as much respect as trophy claws from a bear killing.
Sold for $42,500, this Z.S. Liang painting was the top-seller at the 2010 National Museum of Wildlife Art’s largest annual fundraiser.
Collector Details
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Artist Signature
Signed by the artist
This piece is artist signed and includes a Certificate of Authenticity.
Image Rights
Image copyright © 2026 by Z.S. Liang.
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Z.S. Liang, born in China in 1953 and raised in a family of artists, published his first painting at age 6 in a children's magazine. His art education spanned two continents, beginning at the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing and continuing to the Massachusetts College of Art and Boston University. His award-winning paintings hang in both corporate and private collections around the world and several of his murals are permanently on display in New York City. His works are in corporate and private collections throughout the United States and many other countries, including Sheraton Corporation, Marriott Corporation, Weseda University Tokyo and the West Point Museum. Among the many awards Liang has received are the Best of Show and People's Choice at the American Society of Portrait Artists, the Arthur Ross Award for Painting at the Classical America New York, and the Lila Acheson Wallace Award for Painting at the Society of American Illustrators. Liang's paintings have been featured in the Artist's Magazine and the International Artists.
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