Native American Antiques
From Yosemite to Bears Ears, Erasing Native Americans From U.S. National Parks
By Hunter Oatman-Stanford — Immersed in the American West during the early 19th century, artist George Catlin made it his goal to capture idyllic scenes of nature, often featuring the frontier’s many Native American inhabitants. Catlin was concerned about the destruction white settlers would bring as they moved west from the urbanized East Coast, reshaping the landscape for agricultural and industrial uses, and he wanted to document scenes of indigenous life before it was forever altered. His artwork captures vibrant...
Before Mondrian, Native American Women Painted Abstract Art on Saddlebags
By Lisa Hix — Europeans and European Americans didn’t fully embrace abstract art until the early 20th century, when artists like Piet Mondrian and Ilya Bolotowsky used color, lines, and geometric forms as their means of expression. However, shapes in bold hues have long been a part of the visual language for Native Americans, centuries before their invaders got obsessed with color blocks. Similarly, before Louis Vuitton steamer trunks became all the rage, Plains and Plateau tribes—who became increasingly...
How Railroad Tourism Created the Craze for Traditional Native American Baskets
By Ben Marks — During the 1890s, U.S. railroads brought the first waves of tourists West, spawning a market for souvenirs of the new frontier such as Native American baskets. For the next several decades, the artistry of Native American basketry was at its peak, while the popularity of the art form was unprecedented, derailed only by the Great Depression. Now, a new book by John Kania and Alan Blaugrund titled “Antique Native American Basketry of Western North America” explores the rise and decline of...
Katsina or Kachina? Barry Walsh on the Spiritual Roots of Native American Dolls
By Maribeth Keane and Bonnie Monte — Katsinas are representations of spirit beings, so they should convey a certain amount of spirituality. The old ones generally do that, and some contemporary ones do as well. I look for some sort of artistic oomph and some sort of spiritual presence. And I’m a sucker for detail. I like it when a carver adds accoutrements such as a rattle, rasp, bow and arrow, or quiver, or if he takes time on the earrings or a bracelet, or if he carves the sash in an interesting way. I gravitate toward...
Native American Jewelry Lowdown: The Story Behind Turquoise and Squash Blossoms
By Maribeth Keane and Bonnie Monte — Thanks to my father, I basically grew up involved with Indian arts and culture. He was a graduate of the University of New Mexico and wrote the first popular book on Southwest Indian arts and crafts. In the summer of 1949, he opened a little shop called Ghost Ranch Trading Post at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico. That winter, he moved the shop to Tucson, Arizona. I started doing some of the buying for the shop when I was 16 and took over the store in '72, shortly after I turned 21. I...