current exhibition

Fritz Scholder

A New Indian Image

On view through June 13, 2010

When California Luiseño artist Fritz Scholder moved to Santa Fe to teach at the Institute of American Indian Arts, he brought with him the ambitions of an emerging artist yearning for fame. In 1967, he began his important series of paintings of American Indians. He and his students instigated a shift in how Indians were portrayed by combining contemporary painting with images of Indians—often referencing historic photography.

Fritz Scholder: A New Indian Image presents a dozen works showing the artist’s attempt to alter the image of American Indians in the 20th century, from his defiantly controversial Indians to a deceptively intimate self portrait.